Unbearably Alive
by luna.ibelieveinmagic
Summary: Harry, Hermione and Ron have escaped from Malfoy Manor with Dobby's help, but what if instead of killing Dobby, Bellatrix's knife reaches Ron? What if they lose their best friend in the middle of the war? A story about how they cope with the lose when there is no other choice but to keep fighting. Harry and Hermione promise each other that they'll survive together but, will they?
1. Drowning

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.:**_ _Hello beautiful people. This is a story that has been going through my head for a while._

 _The story begins when Harry, Hermione, Ron and Dobby escape from Malfoy Manor (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23). The first paragraph has been taken directly from the book._

 _Needless to say, as you've read in the summary, in this story it is Ron who gets stabbed with the knife that Bellatrix throws at them when they are trying to escape (the knife that killed Dobby in the original story). This story is about how Harry and Hermione cope with the lose of their friend and how they manage to stay alive in the middle of a war (and eventually fall in love). At the point in which the story begins, they still have to find and destroy the cup, the diadem and the snake (just as in the book) for those who had not read the books, this story begins around the end of the seventh movie (the difference is that Dobby doesn't die, it is Ron who gets stabbed with Bellatrix's knife)_

 _(Rated M just in case)_

 _I hope you enjoy it and remember to let me know what you think of the story with a review. :)_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1: Drowning**_

 _ **As he turned into darkness he caught one last view of the drawing room of the pale, frozen figures of Narcissa and Draco, of the streak of red that was Ron's hair, and a blue of flying silver, as Bellatrix's knife flew across the room at the place where he was vanishing—**_

Suddenly, Harry felt his back hitting the ground with a loud thud and in a second, everything was over. He saw the sun in the sky and smelt the salt in the air. They were far away from Malfoy Manor. Once again, they had escaped a certain death.

"Is this it, Ron?" Harry asked making an effort to let the words out, he was almost blinded by the sunlight and still dizzy after apparating.

But his question was only met with the soft sound of crying girl. It took Harry only two seconds to make the connection. Hermione… Only a few minutes ago she had been tortured by Bellatrix, he could still hear her screams stabbing into him like physical pain. He had never felt so scared in his life as he had been during those terrible moments.

"Hermione" he called her struggling to get on his feet again.

"Harry…" he heard her calling him through the tears and the next thing he knew, she was in his arms. A mass of shaking flesh, fear and tears. He had never seen her in such a panicked state before.

"You're ok…" Harry whispered trying to hold her in his arms "It's over. We're safe…"

He was trying to reassure himself as much as he was trying to reassure her. Feeling her breath against his neck was an undeniable sign that they were still painfully alive. She was alive, they had made it even when all the odds were against them… He'd never thought that a sound as ordinary as her breathing could bring him so much peace but she was alive, in his arms. They were all alive, that was all that mattered.

"They were going to kill me" she whispered, her voice completely broken "I wanted to die…" she sobbed, her whole body was shaking with the effects of the torture and terror "I'm so sorry… I should've…"

"You were brilliant" Harry interrupted her immediately holding her as tightly as he dared, scared that if he hugged her too tightly, he could break her.

Harry shivered, he himself knew what a cruciatus curse felt like. He knew what it was to be absolutely hopeless, thinking that the only thing left to do was wait and take the unbearable pain until death finally comes to ease the pain away. He knew. And he hated that now she knew that feeling as well as he did.

"Where are we?" she asked weakly, her face still hiding against his chest.

"I don't know" he looked around and saw what seemed to be a cottage a short distance away from them. "Ron!" he called again "Ron, is this the right place?" he asked.

Silence.

"Harry Potter, sir, Dobby is very sorry…" he heard the small elf say.

"Dobby, what happened?"

"It was the mean witch, Harry Potter, sir. She threw a knife at Dobby before Dobby could apparate us away" the elf sobbed "Dobby is sorry, Harry Potter. Dobby tried to get Harry Potter and his friends to safety as fast as he could. But Dobby was not fast enough…"

Finally, Harry's concern for Hermione's well being, the only thing that he had been able to think about for the first moments after they apparated, eased a little and consciousness began to make its way back into his mind. Suddenly the elf's words made sense and he turned to look for other friend, then he saw it: Ron was lying on the sand, apparently he was struggling to breath, a silver knife buried in his stomach.

"RON!"

Before he knew it, both him and Hermione crawled their way to Ron's side. His eyes were barely open, his whole body shaking with pain.

"Ron! Ron please hold on!" Hermione cried holding his hand "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"

"No, no, no, no!" Harry cried when he saw Ron closing his eyes, he was too still, too quiet "HELP!" he shouted again, and it looked like their efforts made some effects because he saw a couple running towards them from the cottage.

"Harry! What happened?" Bill Weasley asked as soon as he saw him "Where's…?" but his words died in his lips once he saw his brother lying on the ground, bloody and hurt "Ron…"

"The Snatchers" Harry tried to explain "They took us to Malfoy Manor, Ron was hurt while we were escaping. He told me to come here…" he suddenly started to cry again "It's my fault, Bill. I couldn't save him!"

"He's alive" Bill said after casting a quick spell "The knife is cursed, don't try to touch it" he warned and levitated his brother's body to take him into the cottage "Can you walk?" he asked both of them.

Harry looked at Hermione with a questioning look but before she could answer, Fleur was next to her, helping her to her feet.

"I will 'elp 'er" Fleur smiled and Harry nodded.

Hermione was crying again. Ron was badly hurt. Everything was his fault.

"Dobby will help Harry Potter" he heard the small elf say but just when he was taking his first steps towards the cottage, he felt it: Voldemort's rage when he got to Malfoy Manor and didn't find him was just too fierce to fight it. He only got flashes of his incalculable fury before it became too much to bare and everything went black again.

* * *

"'arry! You're awake" Fleur was right next to Harry when he finally opened his eyes and she was the first person he saw "Are you ok?"

"Yeah… I'm fine" he said taking a deep breath and took a second to analyse his surroundings.

Harry found himself in a small room with two small beds, he was lying in one of them while Hermione seemed to be sleeping in the other one. Fleur was the only person in the room with them but Harry could hear the voices of people outside the room.

"How is she?" Harry asked as soon as he laid his eyes on Hermione's sleeping figure.

"Exhausted…" she said with a sad smile "She was in shock when you came, she wouldn't stop crying and wouldn't let go of your body once you fell unconscious. I 'ad to give 'er five different potions to get 'er to sleep…" she sighed "Bill says zat she 'as been tortured but she will be ok when she wakes up".

"Thank you" Harry nodded at her.

"She was very upset, it will be some time before she can sleep without nightmares or go back to be her old self…"

Again, Harry nodded acknowledging the truth in Fleur's words. That was what war did to people… If they survived, she would have a long way filled with demons ahead of them, just like him.

Having no other way to delay the question he was so afraid to ask, Harry stopped thinking about Hermione for a moment and looked at the witch in front of him.

"How's Ron?"

He didn't need her answer to know. The way her face fell, the way her eyes filled with sadness… It was not good.

"You can go to see 'im if you want to…" was all she said.

"Would you keep an eye on her?" Harry asked gesturing towards Hermione.

"Of course. Bill said zat she would wake up soon anyway".

"Please let me know when she wakes up".

"Don't worry, I will".

Harry thanked her before he left the room to face one of the most difficult moments of his life. Nothing would have prepared Harry Potter for the sight of the Weasley family weeping and crying around a couch that somebody must had transfigured to be large enough for Ron to lay on.

Molly and Ginny were on the floor, both holding one of Ron's hands. Molly, whose face was covered in tears that seemed to never stop falling from her eyes, had a look on her face that Harry had never seen in his life. She looked so absent, almost as if she could see through everything. She didn't make a sound, she didn't move, the only sign that she was alive was the never ending cascade of tears in her face. Ginny's face was hidden against her brother's shoulder, her small body shaking with pain, her soft sobs filling the room. He had missed her so much, had wanted to see her so badly… only not like this. Never like this…

Arthur sat on a chair next to Ron's head, stroking his unconscious son's red hair. He looked like an old defeated man. His eyes were red and his face seemed to be contracted in a pained expression, trying to hold back from crying openly as his youngest daughter was doing. Apparently, the twins were not there yet because the last person in the room was Bill. He was sitting in a chair next to his father, holding his head on his hands, his shoulders were shaking with silent tears.

Nobody was brewing any potions, no one was casting any kind of healing charms, no one was trying to pull the knife from Ron's body…

Ron was lying on the sofa, more pale than ever, sweaty and barely breathing. Bellatrix's cursed knife still buried in his stomach. Harry took a step back and the entire room started to sipn around him. He, he who was more familiar with pain than any other person in the room, he who had fought against the most evil wizard of all times and had survived, he who had escaped death uncountable times… he could not bare the the sight of his friend, surrounded by the family that had welcomed him and loved him in such a state of pain. Harry couldn't breath, he couldn't move… but he had to do _something_ , he had to save him. Ron. His best mate. The first friend he ever had… he _had_ to save him.

"HARRY DON'T!" it was Ginny who shouted and Bill's arms which surrounded him when he lunged forward to pull the knife out of Ron's body himself.

"Let go of me! I have to save him!" Harry struggled against Bill's arms.

"The knife is cursed Harry! You would die in a second" Bill tried to explain but he didn't listen.

"I don't care! Let me help him! I don't care if I die! This is my fault…"

While Bill held him back, Ginny jumped to hug him as tightly as she could and Arthur put a hand on his shoulder.

"It would kill you and it wouldn't save him. The knife has a powerful dark curse on it. There's nothing you can do, son…" said Arthur looking right into his eyes.

"No… no, he can't. He can't be dying…" Harry whispered, his voice cracking with the worst kind of pain he had ever felt.

Molly, who hadn't even looked at him since he came into the room, raised her teary eyes to meet his and nodded. At this, Harry felt the entire weight of the world crashing onto him and suddenly his body began to shake and he fell to his knees. Before he knew it, Ginny was hugging him as if her entire life depended on it, crying against his chest, Arthur's hand was on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around Ginny's shaking body and reached to take Molly's free hand. Then everything collapsed inside him and he broke into tears. He literally broke, he could hear the cracking sounds inside him, his body didn't want to work, his lungs didn't want to breath. His mind refused to believe the truth that his eyes showed him so clearly.

"No…" he sobbed "This is all my fault…"

"It's not your fault, my boy" Molly gave him a weak smile and took his hand to her lips to give him a kiss. Her lips were with tears, just as Ginny's face against his chest, just as his own face. He felt like he was drowning.

"I'm so sorry…" this time, his apology was directed to the unconscious body of his best friend.

"Come here, Gin" Harry heard Bill say and he carefully pulled Ginny away from Harry's arms to hug her himself.

As soon as Ginny's arms were no longer around him, Harry moved closer to Ron's body, taking one of his hands.

"I'm so sorry, mate" he sobbed letting his face rest against Ron's chest "So sorry…" he repeated trying to swallow the lump in his throat "I couldn't save him…" he whispered looking at Molly this time. "I'd give anything to save him. I'm… I'm so sorry".

"We know, Harry" Molly nodded.

Everyone fell silent again, Harry's and Ginny's cries mixing with the sound of the rain outside.

"How long?" Harry asked after a long while with a voice that didn't seem his own.

"Not long…" Bill sighed "Probably he'll be… gone by tomorrow" Harry could see Ginny shudder in her brother's arms "Fleur gave him a calming draught and he fell asleep. Probably he'll wake up in a while, we can say goodbye then but… It's a very nasty curse. I wouldn't like to see him go like that" he wiped his face with his free hand and Harry heard Ginny sob into Bill's chest again.

"What do you suggest, son?" asked Arthur.

"Healers used to give Draught of the Living Death to those who were cursed in Egypt" he said and took a deep breath "He'll feel no pain, he'll just sleep until the time comes."

Arthur nodded thankfully to his older son. "I think it's the best way… What do you think Molly?"

"I don't want him to be in pain" Molly said through the tears while she touched her son's face "Oh, Arthur… I would take his place in a second if I could" she cried and Mr. Weasley soon knelt next to her giving her a one-armed hug.

"Don't say that, Molly…" he whispered.

"He's just a boy…" she cried holding onto her husband "My sweet little boy…"

Harry felt every single word as a knife through his own heart. He was no stranger to death, but he had never had the chance to sit next to someone he loved and say goodbye before death came. He had thought that having the chance to say goodbye would be better than just getting someone ripped away from your side but now that he knew that he would have to say goodbye to his best friend, the pain was even deeper than ever.

He didn't want to say goodbye. It was not fair. Ron did not deserve to die. But neither had Sirius or his parents and they had been killed anyway.

The painful truth was that Ron was leaving them… He wanted to seek revenge, but the pain was so intense, that he had no room for any other feeling.

"'arry?" Fleur called him and he wiped his face before he looked at her "She woke up" she said simply.

Harry nodded and got up to go and see Hermione and Fleur sat in the chair he had been using, taking Bill's free hand in hers and trying to comfort her husband. Harry entered the room wiping his face and found Hermione sitting in her bed. Her eyes looked absolutely empty and no words were needed when their eyes met.

"He's dying, isn't he?" she asked with a lump in her throat.

Harry sat on the bed next to her, his eyes red and puffy, the pain more than evident in his face.

"Answer me!" she demanded, tears starting to fall down her face.

"Bill thinks he won't make it past tonight" Harry nodded and Hermione took her hand to her mouth holding back a sob.

"No…" her voice cracked "But…"

"There's nothing we can do" Harry interrupted, he was crying again, tears falling silently down his own face.

For a moment, she didn't do anything. It took her an entire minute to react, but when she finally did it, she trew herself in Harry's arms and started to cry. Harry had never heard someone cry like that before. It felt like she was literally breaking into small pieces in his arms.

"Breath…" Harry told her when he felt that she was starting to have problems to breath.

She nodded against his chest and tried to calm herself enough to be able to breath like a normal person. She could only manage two deep breaths before she broke into tears again, sobbing hysterically against Harry's chest.

Harry cried too, unable to fight the pain or swallow the tears and they held onto each other while they cried for their friend for what felt like an eternity.

"I know it's not a good question" Harry asked when he felt her starting to calm down "But how are you?"

He didn't need to be more specific for her to know that he wanted to know how she felt about what had happened with Bellatrix. Hermione raised her head to look at him, her teary brown eyes finding his and showing him all the pain she felt without a single word. She knew he of all people would understand her.

"I'll survive" she whispered and Harry nodded hugging her again.

In that moment, he thought that she was the bravest person in the world. She had just been tortured, threatened with the worst possible way to die and there she was, still in one piece, still the same Hermione that had stuck with him through the last seven years. He didn't know what he would do without her.

"Of course you will. You're one of the strongest people I know" he told her hiding his own teary face in her messy brown hair.

"We both will" she said, her voice breaking with every word "We'll survive this, Harry" she cried.

He nodded hugging her closer. They had to survive. The alternative was just too painful…

"We will" he promised knowing that he would do anything to keep at least half of that promise. He would do anything to make sure she survived the war.


	2. Slipping Away

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.:**_ _Hello everyone, I'm glad you liked last chapter. This one picks up exactly where the last one left off. this one is also shorter than the first one but don't worry, the next chapters will be longer. I just felt like I should have these moments (the ones in chapters one and two) in different chapters to give them the importance I feel they should have._

 _Let me know what you think in the review box ;)_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2: Slipping Away**_

Harry stayed with Hermione until she regained at least some control over herself and was able to breath normally again. They both cried together until no more tears were left and eventually, he felt her slowly drift back into unconsciousness in his arms. Harry didn't want to let her go, not with the memory of her screams in Malfoy Manor, not with the image of Ron agonizing in the room next door. He couldn't bare the idea of letting her go, letting her go was almost as frightening as losing her.

He held her closer when he felt the nightmare start to take over her, her body started to shake in panic and Harry noticed that she was having problems to breath again.

"It's not real…" Harry whispered against her hair while he held her and rocked her slowly "You're safe. We've escaped… it's not real".

Slowly, he felt her relax against his body and he sighed with relief. He heard the door opening outside the room and Fred's and George's voices mixing with the voices of everyone else. He heard how they tried to pull the knife out just as he had, he heard Bill telling them what had happened and he heard the twins cry and kick the walls in pain and frustration. He didn't want to hear it. He couldn't bare to hear it so he held onto his sleeping best friend and closed his eyes trusting that she would keep his nightmares away just as he had with hers.

"Harry, wake up. Harry…"

Harry opened his eyes and sat up on the bed with a sudden movement, one arm still wrapped around Hermione who had been sleeping on his chest and the other pointing a wand in a defensive position. His eyes scanned the dark room in search of an enemy, another enemy, a new threat…

"Don't worry, it's just me…" Ginny said taking a step back and hiding the pain from her eyes at the sight of Harry and Hermione together.

"Harry…?" Hermione mumbled confused, he had woken her up when he jumped from the bed.

"Here" he whispered "You ok?"

She just nodded against his chest and took a deep breath. She was safe, she was in Harry's arms. She had escaped… Hermione tried to repeat those thoughts in her head to drive away the dark images of the torture that had came back to her in her sleep.

"My brother is awake… Fleur is brewing the potion. It won't be long now…" Ginny wiped the tears from her face with fury. She didn't want to be the crying little girl anymore, but she couldn't help it "You should say goodbye" and with those words, she left the room.

"She's right…" Hermione mumbled.

"Go ahead, I can't do this" Harry told her without looking her in the eyes.

"Harry…"

"No. I can't stand there and say something. It's like allowing him to leave, I won't stand and watch him die. I can't say goodbye!" Harry said, his voice cracking at the end. More tears pooling in his eyes.

Hermione sighed and tried to find his green eyes. She knew that if he didn't do it, he would regret it forever. Harry needed to say goodbye and Ron deserved to have his best friend on his side when the moment for him to leave came. She knew it, but she also understood Harry's reasoning and she knew that there was no way to argue with his reasons…

"I can't do it without you" she admitted quietly and Harry finally raised his eyes to met hers. "Please, I can't do this alone…"

How could he deny her anything when she looked at him with those pleading teary eyes? How could he not do what she asked him when she looked so devastated? Easy, he couldn't.

Harry took a deep breath before getting up from the bed and she gave him a sad small smile when he offered her his hand.

"Thank you…" she whispered and she put her arm around Harry's waist, he mirrored her actions only one second later and he put his arm around her shoulders. Together, they made their way out of the room to say goodbye to their friend.

Harry was glad that he had Hermione's arm around him when he entered the room where the Weasleys were gathered. He needed all the support that he could get. The sight was even more difficult to take in than the first time.

"Mom and dad had explained him what happened… Fred and George are saying goodbye" Bill told them gesturing towards the couch "How are you?" he asked Hermione.

"I think I'll be fine" she shrugged.

"You were very brave… not many can claim that they had survived Bellatrix's torture and kept their sanity".

"I can imagine why…" she whispered and Harry shivered at the thought of her in a similar situation to Neville's parents "Thank you, Bill".

Harry and Hermione decided to stay back while they watched the Weasleys say goodbye. When Ginny's turn came, Hermione hid her face in Harry's chest and gave in to the tears again, shaking with sobs while he tried to comfort her, crying silently with her.

A few feet away, Ginny was hugging her brother and sobbing hysterically in his shoulder. She had been thinking about what to say for the past few hours, but when the time came, she had not been able to say a word. All she did was throw herself into his arms and let the tears fall. He could not bare the idea of him not being there anymore.

"Let Fred and George take care of you, ok?" Ron told her, hugging her back as tightly as he could "And don't do anything stupid".

Fred and George had promised that they would take care of her. That had been the most important thing he had asked from them. The twins had also smiled when Ron asked them to not let everyone be too depressed, he trusted them with that, they would know how to make his family laugh again…

Ginny nodded and hugged him tighter.

"You'll win a Quidditch World Cup for me, won't you?" he asked and Ginny laughed, that broken kind of laugh that was also half a sob.

"Of course, you prat" she tried to smile at him but she couldn't stop herself from crying.

"That's my sister…" he smiled "Be safe, Gin…"

Ron wiped his sister's tears and hugged her one last time. She hugged him back, and silently they both shared how much they loved each other. Ginny would be ok, Ron knew it. She was a tough girl… and his brothers would protect her, they had promised they would.

Ginny finally let him go and then Bill took a moment to say goodbye to his younger brother. Molly cried while she saw her children hugging each other and Ron asked his brother in a whisper to take care of everyone, especially their parents and his friends. Of course, Bill promised that he would try to keep everyone safe.

"About Harry and Hermione…" Ron started to speak again after he shared a hug with his brother "They don't have a family, no siblings… Please, try to be there for them…" he asked quietly and Bill nodded wiping his own silent tears.

"I will. I'll try to help them as much as I can" Bill promised and Ron smiled.

"You're the best big brother we could've asked for" Ron said and hugged his brother again.

"You're a great man, Ron" Bill said "We're all very proud of you…"

Ron thanked his brother and then looked at Fleur, who was next to her husband, "Please, take care of him" he said.

"I will, Ronald" Fleur held back her own tears.

"And thank you…"

Fleur nodded and leaned in to give him a kiss on the forehead before she took Bill's hand and led him away. Arthur and Molly hugged their oldest son and waited. Everyone fell silent and Harry and Hermione knew that it was their turn. Harry still didn't want to do it, but without another word, Hermione took his hand and they both made their way to their best friend.

Hermione let go of Harry and threw herself into Ron's arms. She made a better job than Ginny at holding herself together, but Harry suspected that it had a lot to do with all the crying she had done with him earlier in the room. Harry sat next to them and held back his own tears. The trio remained silent for a long moment before someone finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, mate… If I had not…" Harry started to speak.

"It's not your fault, Harry" Hermione interrupted and Ron nodded.

"She's right mate. She's always right. You should listen to her more often".

Hermione smiled at his comment "Ron, I… we…"

"I'm sorry for leaving you…" Ron spoke again and took her hand "Hermione, I love you" he said and she sobbed again "But…" he sighed "I don't think it would have worked between us" he admitted.

"What?" she said between tears.

"I know you could be happier with someone else… And now you will be" he smiled.

"But…"

"I want you to be happy" this time, he was talking to both of them "You're the only ones who can end this war. And I know you will. You're bloody brilliant together".

"I don't want you to die…" Hermione cried hugging him again, her tears soaking his robes.

Ron held Hermione for a long moment, allowing himself to think about what could have been. Then, he looked at Harry and without words, he told him what he had to do. Slowly, Harry pulled Hermione out of Ron's arms and she let go, holding onto Harry while she cried.

"You have to promise me that you will take care of each other" Ron demanded, but his eyes were staring into Harry's. He was silently asking him to take care of Hermione.

"We will" Harry said swallowing the lump in his throat and Hermione nodded.

Ron smiled watching them together. After all, he had always known that those two shared something too special. He didn't have to worry, they would take care of each other, they would be fine.

Carefully, Ron sat up and hugged them both. Hermione's sobs grew louder as the three of them shared one last hug in silence. All three of them felt that there were too many things left unsaid, but none of them could find any words. Their friendship had saved all of them and they all knew how much each one of them loved the others. They cried together because after seven years of standing together against every threat, they were facing the moment they had all secretly feared when they started their mission. Death. They had always known that one of them could die, but knowing something and having to go through it were two very different things.

"Ron, the potion is ready…" it was Bill who spoke and they finally broke their hug.

"Thank you Ron" Harry said, he was no longer holgind back his tears. He thanked him for sitting with him on the train during their first trip to Hogwarts, he thanked him for being his friend, for sharing his family with him, for being his brother. And even though he didn't say all of that, Harry knew that he understood.

"Good luck, mate"

Hermione gave Ron a kiss on the forehead and whispered that she loved him too so softly that he was the only one who heard and then Harry hugged him again trying to not think about the fact that he would never hug his best friend again. They didn't say goodbye. None of them were brave enough to say goodbye in that moment.

Finally, Harry and Hermione shared a last meaningful second of silence with their best friend and they got up and took a step back. The entire Weasley family gathered around the couch. All of them were crying. Molly took the potion that Fleur had made and took a seat next to his son, Arthur standing behind her.

"I love you, mom" Ron said and Molly tried to smile at him.

"I love you too, my little boy" she said stroking his son's hair "We're so proud of you…"

"I love you too, dad" he said looking at his father.

"I love you, my son. We all do, and we always will."

Ron looked around the room one last time, taking in the faces of all the people he loved. He did not want to die, but he had to admit that drifting to sleep surrounded by the people he loved was not the worst way to go. He looked at each of his siblings and smiled when Fred and George made a funny face ignoring the tears that were running down their cheeks. He nodded at Ginny, who mouthed a silent _I love you,_ her whole body shaking with the sobs. He smiled at Bill who was next to his father with a hand on his shoulder and the other around Fleur's waist. Silently, he hoped that they would be able to fulfill their promises and take care of everybody else. Harry and Hermione were not looking in his direction when he looked at them, her face was hidden against Harry's chest and his was buried in her brown messy hair, both of them shaking with sobs but still holding onto each other. He wished them good luck and whispered a silent goodbye hoping that they would survive the terrible mission they still had ahead of them. Finally, he looked at her mother's face. The woman he loved above any other in this earth and he allowed a few tears to fall. Molly wiped his tears away and kissed him on the cheek again, her own tears mixing with his.

"I'm ready, mom" he said at last, his Gryffindor courage shining in his eyes.

Molly gave him the potion and stroke his hair while he drank it "Go to sleep, now… sweet dreams my Ronnie…"

"Don't leave me" he whispered to his mother.

"Never" Molly whispered swallowing the lump in her throat.

Then he closed his eyes and allowed the potion to take effect. He took a last deep breath feeling glad to be alive, and silently thanked everyone for being with him. Out of all the ways to die, he decided that this one was almost enjoyable.

That night, Ron Weasley drifted into unconsciousness with a smile on his face, surrounded by the people he loved and without feeling any pain.


	3. Letting Go

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.:**_ _Sorry about the delay. I've been having a lot of things to do these past few days but now I finally have a few days off. I'll be back with more as soon as I can._

 _Let me know what you think about the chapter in the review box ;)_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3: "Letting Go"**_

An hour after Ron took the potion, the curse on the knife started to show its effects. Around the knife, Ron's skin started to change its color turning into black rotten flesh that stated to extend from the the skin around the knife to the rest of Ron's body. The only one that was not surprised by it was Bill but everyone else had to look away and make an effort not to throw up at the sight of such dark magic destroying Ron's body. They could only imagine how painful the curse could have been if Ron had not taken the potion.

"MAKE IT STOP!" Ginny shouted "Make it stop it's hurting him!" she cried.

"He doesn't feel any pain, Ginny" Bill tried to reason with her.

"Make it stop Bill!" she shouted again, starting to punch his brother's chest in rage and grief.

The twins didn't need Bill's instructions to step in and, true to the promise they had just made to their brother, they managed to take Ginny and get her out of the house. Molly could still hear her screaming even after the door had been closed.

Fleur, too upset by the sight of Ron's rotting body, left the room and went into the kitchen with the excuse of making something for them all to eat later.

"Mum, you don't have to see it…" Bill tried to persuade his mother to leave the room too, he knew what was coming and it was not going to be pretty.

"I think he's right, Molly" Arthur spoke this time.

"Don't even think about it! I promised my son that I wouldn't leave him" she said fiercely. Something in her tone convinced them both to not say anything else and they all fell silent again.

When the curse reached Ron's face, Hermione let go of Harry's arm and run off to the loo. All of them could hear her throwing up, but no one said anything. The curse disfigured the face of the young wizard slowly. First his lips, then his nose, then his closed eyes. Harry would not have believed that that mass of rotting black flesh had been his friend if he had not been there watching the whole thing.

"I'm sorry" she told Harry when she came back, her face stained with tears "I can't stand to watch it…"

"Go outside with the rest" Harry advised, understanding her immediately.

"I'm sorry" she whispered again and gave Harry a tight hug before she left the room to join Ginny, Fred and George outside.

Harry was fighting to remain still, he felt like he owed it to his best friend to stay there until the very end but when some more minutes passed, it became too much to bare. A black and thick fluid started to pour from Ron's mouth and nose soon blocking his respiratory tract. He couldn't breath. Molly started to sob again and this time it was Bill who left the room, unable to bare the sight of his little brother dying such a terrible death.

Harry stayed there, almost as if he had been glued to the floor, watching and listening to the horrible choking sounds that his best friend made. Molly seemed to be choking too, choking with her own tears. Harry had never seen someone cry like that. He could only imagine Molly's pain… Probably something like a hundred times what he felt in that moment. He was surprised that she was still alive…

"Come here, Molly" Arthur tried to pull her away from Ron's body.

"NO! I won't leave him!" repeated Molly, sobbing hysterically at the disturbing sight of what once had been Ron's face.

Mister Weasley took a step closer to the blackened body of his son and tried to find a pulse. The whole world seemed to stop in that instant when Harry saw Arthur shaking his head.

"It's over…" he said "He's gone".

 _No._

Harry took a step back and then two and then three and before he knew it, he had left the house. He ran with no direction, his soul burning with pain in his chest, desperately trying to get away from the feelings that did nothing but to grow in his chest, boiling in his blood.

Dead.

Ron had died, choked in his own rotten blood, and it had been his fault. He couldn't breath, he couldn't see the night in front of him. All he could do was run, run until his feet reached the edge of the cliff-top and once there he finally fell to his knees and screamed. His voice mixed with the sound of the waves crashing against stone. And he wanted to be the sea: unbeatable, impossibly strong. He wanted to be like a force of nature, untouched by the pain human beings were always exposed to, oblivious of the meaning of time flowing around him. But he was not, he was nothing but a broken useless creature who had just lost one of the people he cared about the most in this world. His cries sounded like those of a wild dying animal, he screamed until he felt his throat throbbing with pain and then he allowed the tears to come. So many tears that he couldn't see through them, the pain burning inside him like never before.

He didn't understand how it was possible that his heart was still beating, that everything around him stayed the same. The entire world should be crumbling, time should have stopped flowing. But everything was still the same. Maybe the unbearable truth that nothing had changed around him with his friend's death was the thing that hurt the most. He wanted his own body to break down, he wanted the ocean to turn into ice, he wanted everything to be destroyed but the night reminded silent, peaceful and in perfect harmony.

"Harry!" he heard an all too familiar voice calling his name.

Hermione was running towards him. Weak as she still was after Bellatrix's torture, she had still gone after him. Harry didn't get up, he couldn't get his body to function. The images of Ron's death replaying over and over again in his mind.

"He's gone" he sobbed when he felt Hermione's arms around him.

"I know…"

It was Hermione's turn to cry in silence while she comforted Harry just as he had done hours before for her. She didn't say a word, she just held him as close to herself as she could and allowed her fingers so bury in his hair trying to comfort him. Completely overwhelmed by the pain and guilt he felt, Harry accepted Hermione's comfort while he took it all out.

"Breath, Harry" she reminded him repeating the words he had used with her before.

"He's dead" Harry repeated after a deep breath "Ron's dead because of me".

"Shh… don't say that. It's not your fault…" she whispered in his ear, holding him as his body shook with pain and grief.

"It's over, Hermione. He's dead…"

"No it's not… it's not over" her voice sounded more firm this time "Harry, look at me…" Hermione asked him but as he didn't move, she took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her but he closed his eyes "It's not over. Look at me, Harry Potter " she pleaded, he allowed his forehead to rest against hers and opened his eyes "It's not over Harry. We're alive, we'll keep fighting" she lost herself in his broken gaze while she spoke "It's not over" she swallowed the lump in her throat "We're alive, Harry. We'll survive, remember?"

He nodded starting to come back into his senses. She was right. They were alive, they had to keep fighting. He had just promised Ron that he would keep Hermione safe. And the only way to keep Hermione safe was to end the war once and for all. They could not run, they could not hide, they would never be safe if they didn't end the war.

"Promise me that you will never leave me" she started crying again "Promise me that we will end this" she begged him.

"We will" he nodded wiping her tears away.

"Promise me. Promise me that we'll survive this war, Harry"

"I promise" he said and she sighed in relief, a smile shining in her tear-soaked face. "I'll never leave you".

She hugged him again, breathing in his scent, allowing her body to fill with the undeniable truth of Harry's living breathing body holding on to her. As painful and intimidating they thought death to be, in that moment both of them silently agreed on the fact that life sometimes could be far too much more painful than death itself.

When they had finally managed to control their grief, Harry and Hermione made their way back to the cottage and were surprised to find the entire Weasley family, Luna and Fleur waiting for them outside of the building. Harry had almost forgotten that Luna, Dean, Mr. Ollivander and Griphook had been recovering from their injuries in Shell Cottage too.

"What is this?" Harry asked when he saw the form of what could only be a body wrapped in sheets resting on the sand several feet away from them.

"We won't make a funeral…" explained Arthur "Gathering our friends in that kind of ceremony would end in nothing but a bloodbath. We can't afford to give the Death Eaters an opportunity to kill us all."

"Then what are you going to do?" Hermione asked confused.

"We'll let the wind take him" said Molly. "That cursed heap of flesh and bones is not my son. It's only what dark magic has made of him… He would want it this way, and there's no other option in times like this."

Harry was about to ask what she had meant with that, but before he could speak, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley pointed their wands to the body and whispered an incantation at unison " _Incendio_ ".

In turns, Bill, Fred, George and Ginny sent their spells too and the flames covered what was left of Ron.

"They say the fire purifies the soul of a dead one" Luna told them "It's an old tradition… You can use my wand if you want to" she offered when she figured that they had lost their wands when they escaped.

"Thank you, Luna" Hermione smiled and took the wand. "Goodbye, Ron…" she whispered " _Incendio."_

"Have a nice rest, mate… Goodbye" Harry muttered with a lump in his throat and raised the wand he had taken from Draco in Malfoy Manor " _Incendio"_.

Everyone watched the fire in silence until it finally consumed all that was left of the body and with the first sun's rays, Molly conjured a soft breeze that took away the ashes and Ron Weasley's last remains flew away into the morning sky.

* * *

The sun was up in the sky and everybody was cramped around the table in the kitchen. Fleur had made tea and some biscuits and everyone drank silently, their eyes lost in the distance.

Ginny was standing next to a window, clutching a cup of tea and constantly wiping away her tears, away from everyone. Next to Harry, Hermione hadn't stopped shaking in hours, her arm wrapped around Harry's unconsciously trying to stop him from living her side. She was terrified of losing sight of him. Fleur held Bill's hand stroking the back of his hand with her thumbs and Molly kept crying silently in Arthur's arms. Harry couldn't think about anything, his mind was a blank sea of sadness and after being alone and isolated from the world for so long, sharing the room with so many people was starting to threaten his fragile and apparent peace of mind.

The silence seemed to be imperturbable, at least until Harry screamed in pain. His scar was hurting so badly that in a second he had completely lost control of his mind. Hermione's arm around his, the soft sunlight of the morning, the depressing atmosphere around the table and all the read haired people around him disappeared suddenly. And his eyes were somebody else's and his body was no longer his own. And he was Voldemort again and Voldemort was him.

He swam in the dark wizard's mind for what seemed like an endless moment and he saw it all. He saw Voldemort tracking this precious object around. He saw how the Dark Lord had tortured Mr. Ollivander, he saw him tracking the object to Gregorovitch and then he saw him killing Gellert Grindelwald in cold blood. And then Harry saw it. The precious object Voldemort had been trying to find… it was the wand, the elder wand. The one in the tale… the unbeatable wand.

Suddenly, everything clicked in his mind. Dumbledore giving Hermione the book, the symbol of the Hallows written on it, the story, their journey… The wand. It was Dumbledore's wand, he had seen Dumbledore with it too many times to be wrong…

When Harry felt himself regaining control of his own body he found himself sitting in a comfortable chair that somebody (probably Hermione) must had transfigured for him. The first thing he felt was a hand practically clutching his. He didn't need to see it to know it was Hermione who was holding his hand. He also registered a damp cloth on his forehead, surely that had been Hermione's doing too. She always took care of his fever when the connection with Voldemort rendered him unconscious.

But something was absolutely strange. He could hear somebody's voice shouting… Harry was surprised to notice that there were people screaming at each other around him.

"I'm telling you he doesn't need a healer!" Hermione said, trying her best not to scream "He'll be ok, he just needs me to control the fever…"

"Ha! Of course he needs _you_!" Ginny shouted in return "You don't know anything, Hermione! Get out of the way and let _me_ take care of _my boyfriend._ "

"I'm not leaving his side" Hermione said calmly, her hand squeezing Harry's.

"I knew it!" Ginny cried this time "Are you happy now, Hermione? Did you get what you wanted?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

"You've always wanted him for yourself! You think that now with Ron gone you finally got what you wanted? Well, you're wrong!"

"Ginny stop it…" Bill tried to interfere.

"I won't!" she cried again and her words went back to Hermione "Do you think he's going to notice you just because Ron's gone? Was it what you were waiting for?"

"Ginny, I know you're upset but…"

"This is what you wanted! You've wanted Ron gone all this time haven't you? His death was _your_ fault! He was trying to protect _you_!"

"No…" Hermione whispered, her voice starting to break with the tears.

"That's enough!" Everyone was surprised to hear Harry rising his voice.

"Harry… Are you ok?" Hermione asked, as soon as she turned to see him.

"I'm fine. You?"

Hermione nodded swallowing the lump in her throat and trying to wipe the tears without him seeing that she was crying.

"She's playing the victim! Can't you all see it?" Ginny kept shouting "Ron's out of the way, she's finally gotten what she wanted! Ron's death was her fault!"

"Ginny stop it!" Harry shouted and everyone was silent again.

"I'm sorry…" Hermione whispered and she left the kitchen in a rush, running up the stairs while she tried to hold back the tears.

"Harry, you're awake! Are you ok? What happened to you?" Ginny asked with tears in her eyes, taking a step closed to Harry and taking his face in her hands.

"I'm fine" he said, shaking away her hands.

"Harry…"

But before she could finish her sentence, Harry had disappeared upstairs, going after Hermione and leaving the Weasleys to deal with Ginny.

Hermione was crying on the floor with her back against the door when she heard him knocking.

"Hermione, open the door…" Harry insisted "Come on, let me in".

"It's my fault…" she whispered through the tears, but Harry was able to listen anyway.

"Don't say that. Come on, Hermione. Open the door before I decide to levitate you out of the window…"

At those words, she chuckled against her will and Harry smiled when he heard that sound. There was something amazing in being able to make her smile even in the worst moments. Sighing, he decided to wait in silence until finally, after almost ten minutes, he heard Hermione speak again.

"You still there?" she squeaked.

"Of course I am…"

"You can come in".

With a small smile, Harry opened the door and found Hermione sitting on the floor, her eyes red and puffy and her back lying against a wall. He knew her well enough to know that she didn't need him to say anything right now, she just needed his silent support. He dropped to the floor next to her and when she rested her head against his shoulder, he wrapped an arm around her and both sat there in silence for almost half an hour.

"She's wrong, it wasn't your fault" Harry finally broke the silence whispering against her hair before dropping a small kiss in her forehead and she sighed.

"I know…" she whispered. "I mean, on a rational level, I know. But…"

"No buts, Hermione. It wasn't your fault".

She nodded with a sigh "Thank you, Harry".

"Anytime…"

She took a deep breath before she finally got to her feet, immediately missing the comfort of Harry's arm around her.

"We've been here for a whole day, Harry… Grieving for days is not something we can afford right now".

"I know" Harry nodded "I saw what he's after, Hermione".

"And what is it?"

"The Wand. He's looking for the Elder Wand".

"Harry, are you sure? We've already had this conversation…" she spoke, recalling how obsessed Harry had been with the Hallows before the Snatcher's had found them.

"I _saw_ it, Hermione. I know where it is".

She took a second to consider, looking deeply into his green eyes and she finally sighed. After all, she'd trust him with her life.

"Are you sure?" she asked again and Harry nodded.

"Fine. I trust you".

In spite of the circumstances, Harry's lips formed a small smile at those words and Hermione's mirrored it.

"Where is it?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore had it. He was buried with his wand but if his wand is really _that_ wand, probably he made sure that it wasn't so easy as breaking into his grave and taking it. He was Dumbledore after all".

"Yeah, you're right…" she nodded "And, Harry?"

"Yes?"

"I think we might have the location of another Horcrux" Hermione said quietly "Bellatrix was absolutely out of herself when she thought that we had broken into her vault at Gringotts. She only came back to her usual psychotic self when she made sure that we hadn't".

"What do you mean?"

"I think another of the Horcruxes is hidden in her vault. Probably Voldemort never really told her what it was. Just that it was a very important object or something like that. It makes sense if you think about it…"

"Yeah, actually it does" he nodded. "But how are we going to break into Gringotts?"

"I don't know… Maybe we should go to Hogwarts first. If anyone knows anything about the wand, it has to be McGonagall. We can figure out how to break into Bellatrix's vault tomorrow".

"Fine, I'll let Bill know that we're leaving right now. We should be back by nightfall".

Hermione nodded but before Harry left the room, she walked towards him and threw herself into his arms. Harry automatically wrapped his arms around her with a confused expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked with his face buried in her brown mane of bushy hair.

"I just don't want to lose you… I wish we could stay here, where we're safe…".

"I know…" Harry sighed and held her even closer "I know… But we're gonna end this, Hermione. I promise you we'll end it…"

"We will…" she whispered and in that second, with her ear against Harry's chest, listening to the soft music of his heartbeat and his arms around her, she believed she could do anything.


	4. Coming Back to Life

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.: Hi people! Here's another chapter!  
**_ _ **First of all, I want to thank you all for your reviews. To think that I actually made some of cry had me up in the clouds... I don't know how I'll be able to keep up with that emotional level... anyway, this chapter is a little lighter I guess.  
**_ _ **Someody asked me if I was going to kill Fred. I'd really like to answer that question, but I haven't made up my mind about the**_ _ **battle yet so... can't answer.  
**_ _ **I'm kind of playing it by ear here on how I want some pieces of the story to develop. It would really help me to know what you think and what you want to happen.  
**_ _ **Finally, I want to thank my beta for helping me with the final edition! Thank you, thank you, thank you!  
Read enjoy and let me know what you think in the review box ;) **_

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Coming Back to Life**_

When Harry and Hermione went down the stairs, they found that Molly and Arthur had retired to take a nap. Fred, George and Bill were sitting around the table pretending to eat the lunch that Fleur had made for them. The air seemed to be as depressing as it had been in the morning. Hermione wrapped an arm around Harry's **,** showing an unconscious fear of losing sight of him and he did nothing but give her a small smile before he turned to Bill.

"Bill, where's Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Harry, I know she shouldn't have said that to Hermione but I don't think now's the time to…"

"I know" Harry interrupted him. "You're right, she shouldn't have said that but we need to talk to her about something else."

"She's been outside since you went upstairs" he nodded towards the window and Harry saw Ginny sitting on the sand alone, away from everyone.

"Maybe it will be for the best if you go talk to her alone, Harry" Hermione spoke this time.

"Are you sure?" he asked; he could already feel her starting to shake. She was doing a pretty good job at pretending that she was ok, but Harry knew that her experience with torture and the lose of Ron had really made a number on her.

"You go, I'll make some tea and wait here." she squeaked, letting go of his arm.

"Ok, I'll be right back" he promised and he left the room as quickly as he could.

"Harry, wait. What are you two up to?"

"Hermione will explain it to you" Harry said after a quick silent exchange with Hermione.

Harry left the cottage and walked silently towards Ginny. The red haired girl was no longer crying, but her eyes were so lost and filled with sadness that he almost turned back to leave her alone in her grief.

"I need to talk to you, Ginny" Harry said softly. He had been mad at her for yelling at Hermione like she had, but she seemed so fragile that he was afraid he would break her if he spoke too loudly.

Ginny shrugged and gestured to a spot in the sand next to her. Silently, Harry sat next to her and allowed the silence to cover them as a blanket for a long moment.

"You haven't been just hiding and running like everyone says, have you?" Ginny finally asked.

"No, we haven't…"

"You should have escaped" she sighed. "Ron wouldn't have died if you had fled the country. You still can, you could at least save yourself…"

"We're not running away, Gin. Ron knew what he was risking when he decided that he would come with me. We're going to keep fighting and we'll end this war."

Ginny took a deep breath and her eyes gleamed with tears again.

" _We, we, we…_ " she let out a sad small chuckle "You and Hermione." she said and Harry saw pain crossing her face at the words. Almost as if saying their names together was too much for her. "Do you realise how you consider you and her as a single unit?"

"We… we need each other. That's how it's always been." Harry said without putting much thought into his words. He didn't even understand where Ginny was going with her words.

"Yes… that's how it's always been… But you've never _needed_ me, have you?"

"Ginny, I don't think now's the best time to have this conversation… You and I…" But he couldn't finish his improvised speech, Ginny cut him off with a question he had never prepared the answer to.

"Do you love her, Harry?"

Ginny's eyes buried in his and the question cut deep into him. He had never thought about it. Even liking Hermione that way had always been out of the question. _Loving_ her? It seemed absolutely impossible yet the most natural way to call what he felt for her.

Ginny was right, he considered himself and Hermione as a unit in more ways than one. He was more scared to lose her that anybody else in the war. She was the only person he thought he couldn't keep fighting without… Did he _love_ her? How could he know what love was after everything he had been through, after so many of the people that claimed to have loved him had died?

"You do, Harry… I've seen it. Now more than ever…" She sighed. "The way you automatically look for her every time you step into a room, the way you let her touch you, the way you share _everything_ with her… You'd trust her with your life, you'd die to keep her safe without question… Right now, you're worried about her because you've both been through hell and you hate not having each other within arm's reach." She gave him a sad smile. "We've never had something like that, Harry. That's what love looks like…"

Harry didn't say anything. He just stared at the wild ocean in front of him thinking about what Ginny had said. If you thought about it logically, she was right. Everything she had said was true… But loving Hermione? It still sounded so odd in Harry's head. Still, there was something inside him that felt incredibly warm at the thought.

"This is a war, Gin. I can't think about that now…"

"Isn't the war the reason why you _should_ think about that? Merlin knows that it's the last thing I would want, but you know that you could die any day now, the same goes for her…"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I do love you. And sometimes loving someone means letting go and wanting the person you love to be happy."

Harry nodded in understanding and they both remained silent for a long while.

"You didn't come here to talk about this" Ginny said once it became clear that Harry wasn't going to say anything else.

"No. In fact I wanted to ask you something… We need to get into Hogwarts as soon as possible. You've been there since classes started again. I need you to tell me everything you know about it, I'm sure it's not going to be as easy as getting into Honeydukes and taking the secret passage."

"They sealed off all the passages we knew of before school started. There are dementors all around the boundary walls, regular patrols inside the school… The place has never been so heavily guarded. And I haven't even started to talk about the Carrows, Snape's deputies. There's only one way in… What do you need with the school anyway?"

"We need to speak with McGonagall. There's something we need to find. Two somethings in fact, but one of them can wait…"

"The only way in is through Aberforth's passage."

"Aberforth? As in…"

"Dumbledore's brother, yes. He's the owner of the Hog's Head Inn. The only safe way to get in is if you apparate directly inside the Hog's Head, you may not even need to get inside Hogwarts. If you explain it to him, maybe he'll be able to get McGonagall to talk to you"

"Good, Hermione should have already spoken to Bill. We are leaving right now. We don't have much time."

"Take care, Harry" Ginny said, her eyes going back to the ocean.

"I'll be back tonight and we'll plan what to do here. I know what you're feeling, Ginny. I can't say that everything's going to be alright because it won't, but you'll survive…"

"I know. It's what Ron would have wanted anyway."

Harry nodded and walked back to the cottage to find Hermione talking with Bill at the table while they drank tea. Next to Hermione, a hot cup of tea was waiting for him.

"Hey" Harry said taking his seat next to her and she gave him a small smile.

"Harry, I have good news" she told him with a smile and Harry smiled back. He hadn't heard about good news in too long. "We've been talking. Bill says that maybe we don't even need to go to Hogwarts today. He knows who sent help at Malfoy Manor, Harry. It was Dumbledore's brother. House Elves still can apparate in and out of Hogwarts, maybe if we call Dobby again, he'll be able to bring McGonagall. It will be quicker and much safer than trying to get inside the school ourselves."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, this time he was looking directly at Bill.

"It's worth the try. After what we've heard from Hogwarts, I'm sure you don't want to go there unless you absolutely have to."

"What do you think?" Harry asked again, this time looking at Hermione, another manifestation of his absolute trust in her.

"I think it's a good plan… We'll have to get into Hogwarts eventually, but I don't think we'll be able to get out. We should take care of Gringotts first… If you're so sure about the wand, maybe getting McGonagall to come here is our best shot."

"Yeah… I think you're right" Harry nodded after thinking about it for a while. "Can you contact Dumbledore's brother, Bill?"

"Yes I can. Don't worry. You should try to eat something while you wait… You'll need your strength."

"Thank you, Bill" Hermione smiled before he left the room to contact Aberforth.

"So we wait…" Harry said after taking a sip of his cup of tea.

"We wait…" Hermione nodded. "How did everything go with Ginny?"

"She gave me the information we needed. I don't think Hogwarts looks like home anymore."

"Is it that bad?"

"She didn't get to tell me many details, but it doesn't sound good."

"And how is she?" Hermione asked again.

"She has just lost her brother, I don't think she'll be ok for a while…" he sighed. "How are _you_?"

"Is this how it's gonna be now? I get struck with a Dark Curse and I get to have you worrying about me 24/7?" she tried to joke.

"I always worry about you" Harry said without thinking and the truth in his words surprised them both.

"I can't say that I'm fine. I don't know if I'll ever be fine again…" she admitted. "After what happened with Ron and…" She shuddered "I'm scared, Harry. They were so close to killing us all."

"But they didn't" suddenly, some of Ginny's words echoed in Harry's head. He wasn't sure about loving her, he didn't even what to think about that words right now, but he did want Hermione to be happy, even if it wasn't with him. "You know you can leave if you want to" he said without looking at her and trying to sound as gentle as he could with the lump that was starting to form in his throat. "You could escape, find a way to leave the country… You could be safe."

"You're not really suggesting that I leave you behind are you?"

"Think about it, Hermione. It's the only way you can be truly safe… away from all this, away from me."

"Harry I'm not leaving you" she said with such passion in her voice that he had to look at her to make sure that she wasn't crying again. "I could barely stand to be a few feet away from you for five minutes while you talked with Ginny and you want me to leave the country? I won't. Not a chance."

"But… I need you to be safe" the words left Harry's mouth before he even thought about it and Hermione's face lit up.

"I don't care about safety if you're not with me, Harry" she said without hesitation. "I'm not leaving. We're in this together, we've had this conversation a hundred times…"

"You'd be willing to die…" he whispered and Hermione nodded. "You'd be willing to give up the chance to have the life you've always wanted for _me_?"

"I'd do anything for you" she said simply and hid behind her cup of tea.

Again, Ginny's words echoed in Harry's head but he didn't say anything. He had always been better with actions than with words so he took her hand in his and held her. Somehow feeling her skin made him feel stronger than ever.

"You're freezing" Harry whispered and took her hand closer to his face to blow hot air in her skin.

"I've been reading… Extended exposure to the Cruciatus Curse can have some side effects. Cold's one of them… nightmares too, of course."

"Haven't you tried a Heating Charm?"

"Ain't gonna work. It's dark magic. It'll eventually fade away…"

They finished their tea in silence, holding hands and enjoying the peace of a moment of safety while Hermione read a book she had gotten from Bill earlier.

"Hermione?" Harry spoke after some minutes and she looked up from the pages.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad that you're with me" he smiled and she smiled back at him, that shining beautiful smile of hers… What he wouldn't give to have her smiling like that every day?

"There's no other place I'd rather be."

* * *

Harry felt that things were finally starting to get better when he saw Dobby and Minerva McGonagall walking towards Shell Cottage after apparating in the same place where Harry, Hermione, Ron and Dobby had apparated the day before. Bill went to greet them and soon they were all sitting around the table in the kitchen.

"It is so good to see you two" McGonagall smiled after shaking Harry's and Hermione's hands with great affection. "I'm deeply sorry about what happened with Mister Weasley…" she added at the end.

"We all are" Hermione nodded. "It's good to see you again, Professor."

"I hear that you two needed to ask me something?"

"Actually we do, Professor" this time, it was Harry who spoke. "We… we've been working on a special mission that Dumbledore's left us and we need help."

"Professor, we wouldn't have asked you to put yourself at risk if it wasn't absolutely necessary. If there's anything Dumbledore left you for us, now's the time to give it to us. We need Dumbledore's wand. You-Know-Who is after it too and it is very important that he doesn't get it." Hermione continued and then allowed Harry to take her place.

"We believe that the real wand is not buried with him in his grave. He knew that the wand was not a common one and that probably more than one wizard would seek to get it… You're the only person we could think of that he would trust enough to tell this information."

"Professor Dumbledore knew that he was going to die for a long while before the incident on the tower" McGonagall started to speak and both Harry and Hermione we surprised with her words. "He was cursed, I'm sure you've noticed his hand… The curse would have killed him shortly after the end of the school year if he hadn't been killed that night."

"He knew he was going to die?" Hermione asked with disbelief.

"And he never told us?" Harry asked this time, his body starting to fill with disappointment and rage.

"I was told that when he died I had to hide his wand and transfigure an ordinary one to look like his to be buried. Of course I did as he said. I had instructions to give you the original wand along with a few other items when you came back to school but you never did."

"He knew he was dying and he never told us" Harry mumbled looking at Hermione. He had never felt so betrayed in his life.

"Harry" Hermione spoke when she felt him shaking with rage next to her and she took his hand in hers managing to get his attention. "I know how you feel but it's not what matters now…"

After a deep breath, Harry nodded and they turned their attention back to McGonagall.

"We're going to need this objects now, Professor" Hermione said back to her serious, confident self.

"Of course" McGonagall waved her wand and in an instant, a small wooden box was placed on top of the table. "Only Mister Potter will be able to open it. If you ever need more help, you know where to find me."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry told her sincerely.

"You're welcome, Mister Potter. Good luck" she smiled at the two of them with affection. "I'll better go back before anybody notices I'm gone."

"Thank you again, Professor" Hermione thanked her with a smile. "We'll see eachother soon."

"Take care of each other."

Both nodded before she left the room to meet Dobby and leave for Hogwarts as soon as possible. The elf was going to come back later to help them with breaking into Gringotts.

"Open it!" Hermione urged Harry as soon as they were alone in the room.

"I don't know what to think, Hermione. He knew he was about to die… He never said anything, he could've…"

"Listen" she interrupted him. "For what we know now, Dumbledore was far from being the person we thought him to be but right now the only thing we should think about is how to end this war. Maybe there's something in that box that will help us defeat Tom. Just open it, Harry."

Harry took a deep breath before he finally opened the wooden box. Inside it, he found many small bottles containing what he easily recognized as memories, a smaller version of Dumbledore's pensieve, Dumbledore's wand and a note.

"I hope this memories help you. You must see them only after the last Horcrux has been destroyed. I'm very proud of you, my dear boy. The best of luck, Albus Dumbledore" Hermione read.

"More secrets…" Harry growled. "I need to know what the memories are…"

"Harry, I think we should do as Dumbledore says in this… I'm sure he had his reasons."

After giving it a few minutes of thought, Harry finally nodded and pushed the topic away.

"So this is it, the Elder Wand" Harry whispered picking up the wand from the box.

"Try it, Harry" Hermione told him.

Harry was surprised to feel a warm caress in his hand where the wand was touching him and without thinking, he held Hermione's hand and before the incantation left his lips, a shining silver stag burst from Harry's wand, charging around the room in search of a threat and then finally came back to Harry's side.

"Harry, that's… that's the strongest Patronus I've ever seen" Hermione whispered amazed by the sight and reached out to trying to touch it only to be surprised by the fact that she actually _could_ touch it. "It's solid!"

"It must be the wand… I didn't even get to say the incantation"

"The Unbeatable Wand…" Hermione said, testing the words in her mouth "Maybe the Hallows are real after all."

"I think they are" Harry agreed and for the first time a warm feeling started to grow in his chest: hope.


	5. Starting to Heal

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.:**_ _Hello beautiful people ! here's a new small update. Maybe this is the last bit of peace and fluff before the fighting begins. I hope you like it!_

 _Somebody commented on how it seemed weird that Hermione had doubted Dumbledore but two sentences later she had told Harry to do as he said. I hope this chapter clears that up._

 _Let me know what you think in the review box! You can also ask anything you want ;)_

 _ **Chapter 5: Starting to Heal**_

"We used the last of the Polyjuice Potion and we don't have time to brew more. Anyway, we don't even know if that hair you found in your sweater is actually Bellatrix's" Harry shook his head discarding another plan.

"You're right, it was ridiculous…" Hermione sighed.

They were both sitting on the sand trying to figure out a way to break into Gringotts to get the Horcrux from Bellatrix's vault. After McGonagall had left, Harry and Hermione had tried to persuade Griphook to help them break into the bank but he had refused to go with them. At least, the goblin had showed his gratitude after they saved his life by telling them all he knew about the bank and about the Lestrange Vault in particular.

They would need identification, to get into the bank. They would need a Gringotts goblin to open the vault with his hand and guide them through the tunnels and they would also need the Clankers, a device designed to scare the dragon guarding the deepest vaults, so they could get past it. So far, they didn't have any of those things.

"I can't think about anything else. I mean, they have a bloody _dragon_ down there…" one of Harry's hands went through his hair in a nervous gesture.

Hermione gave him a small smile and her eyes suddenly sparkled with a thin layer of tears she quickly tried to blink away.

"What is it?" he asked worried about the sad look in her eyes.

"You just sounded a lot like Ron…" she whispered.

"Are you _mental_?" Harry added and both of them chuckled sadly.

"I can't believe he's really gone."

"I guess that's the thing about death… Sometimes I still hope to get a letter from Sirius, you know? It's like there's always a part of you that just refuses to believe the fact that they are just _gone_. Never coming back."

Hermione nodded at his words. Sometimes she forgot that he had lost so many people.

"We've spent so long hiding in the tent, away from all this" she sighed "I mean, it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience but at least we were… we had this illusion of safety. We didn't have to think too much about the world outside." she looked up at him with teary eyes "I never actually understood what we were up against, you know? This really is a war…"

"It is…" Harry nodded this time, his eyes lost in the sight of the ocean in front of him.

"I've read so many stories about war… about the beauty of tragedy, stories about heroic deaths and… everything just seems so foolish" she swallowed the lump in her throat "There's nothing beautiful about dying young."

Her words danced in the air for a long moment and she allowed her tears to fall. Sometimes she couldn't believe that there were still more tears to cry. Seeing her tears, Harry wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer until her back was resting against his chest.

"I don't want to die" she whispered so softly that if he had not been that close, he wouldn't have heard her.

"You won't" he whispered back holding her warm body tightly against his, she was softly shaking with small sobs that were lost in the sound of the ocean.

"You can't promise that."

Harry wanted to tell her that he could. He wanted to be able to protect her from all harm, but her words were undeniably true. He couldn't promise that she wouldn't die. And the thought of her leaving this world and him not being able to do anything to stop it suddenly was scarier than the whole war around them.

Hermione moved her head until her ear was placed against Harry's chest, exactly on the spot where she could hear his heart beating, and she closed her eyes taking a deep breath.

"It's so good to know that you're alive right now…" she confessed holding on to him.

"Sometimes I almost forget that I am" it was Harry's turn to make a confession this time "After all these years, after so many times when I could have died… all the times I wished I had."

Hermione closed her eyes tighter at his words and held onto him almost as if she was trying to disappear inside his body. She couldn't bear the thought of Harry dying, of Harry _wanting_ to die… But she understood it now. She herself had silently pleaded to be dead during the time Bellatrix had tortured her. She understood the fear, the feeling of pain taking over every single thought in your mind…

"You _are_ alive, Harry" Hermione whispered against his chest "As painful and scary as it may sound, you're still alive, still fighting."

"I know" he whispered back. Holding her next to his chest reminded him that his heart was still beating, that life was still running through his veins. "Maybe that's the most difficult part of it all. Staying behind after so many have gone."

"Maybe…" she nodded in agreement and they watched the sunset in silence, holding on to each other, enjoying the simple joy of being breathing the same air.

After the sun fell, Harry realised that Hermione's breathing had changed and soon he figured that she had fallen asleep on his chest. After all, she was still exhausted and her body was still recovering from the after effects of the Unforgivable Curse cast on her.

After casting a quick Cushioning Charm on the sand, he carefully laid her down and conjured a soft white blanket using Dumbledore's wand. He still had some troubles to think about the powerful wand as his own but the truth was that he had never felt so powerful and comfortable with a wand before, not even with his own. Maybe it was going to take some time to get used to it, but he was glad to have it.

While Hermione slept, he tried to come up with another plan to break into Gringotts and not die trying but he finally gave up and concentrated his thoughts in a much pleasant activity. Watching Hermione sleep suddenly seemed the most interesting thing in the world. The way her chest rose and fell rhythmically with her breathing made him feel safe and calm. She deserved at least a couple minutes of dreamless sleep and Harry was happy to watch her getting it.

Without much thinking, he reached out and traced the soft lines of her face with the tips of his fingers before they got lost in her brown locks of hair. He had never really taken a moment to appreciate how beautiful his best friend had grown up to be. Right there, sleeping on the sand with the last sunrays playing with the soft tones of her skin Harry became fully conscious for the first time of how much he liked her.

He sighed and a small smile made its way into his lips when, still asleep, Hermione's hand found his and their fingers intertwined. There was no denying it, he did love the girl. He didn't want to think about the implications of that fact, but he couldn't deny the fact that he really loved her. He still hadn't decided if he was _in love_ with her. After all, they were in the middle of a war and there was not time to be spent worrying about strange feelings and broken hearts. He just allowed himself to accept the fact that what they shared was a bond much stronger than friendship.

He wanted to protect her, he wanted to give her something that would help her, keep her safe. And suddenly, he realised that he actually could.

Feeling excited for the first time in a really long time, Harry pulled the two halves of his old wand from his mokeskin pouch and laid them on the sand in front of him. Hermione had tried to repair it a lot of times and it hadn't worked, but if the solid Patronus he had cast with the Elder Wand just hours before proved anything, it was that this wand could perform magic beyond their imagination.

"Reparo" he whispered touching the broken pieces with the tip of Dumbledore's wand and he was glad to see that the spell worked.

"Harry?" Hermione mumbled as her eyes fluttered open.

"Look, I have something for you."

"Harry, is that…?" she asked with surprise when she saw his old wand back in one piece.

"I fixed it!" Harry smiled "I know it's not the same as your old wand but… since yours worked for me, well… I thought…"

With a smile on her face, Hermione picked up the wand and waved it around, a warm wave of magic extending from her hand to her whole body. It felt so familiar, so safe… so _Harry._

"It's perfect!" she smiled.

"I figured you'd need one since yours was lost in Malfoy Manor."

"Thank you, Harry" her eyes sparkled again and without thinking she jumped back into his arms and hugged him.

Harry smiled against her hair, his arms automatically surrounding her. They were in the middle of a war, death seemed to be waiting round every corner and they were still grieving their friend's death, but holding Hermione like that and feeling her smile against his neck, Harry felt something close to happiness for the first time in more time than he could remember.

"Do you think you can help me practice?" she asked after they broke their hug.

"Practice?"

"Yes, like we used to do in the DA meetings. We both could use a bit of practice duelling… Merlin knows we'll probably need it soon."

Harry smiled watching her get back on her feet with the wand pointing at him ready to fire a spell and a teasing smile on her lips.

"Are you scared, Potter?"

Harry smiled and accepted the challenge getting up from the sand as fast as he could and bowing politely at her. Hermione laughed a little before she mirrored his actions and he allowed her to take the first shot blocking her spell easily. She was almost as competitive as he was and in a matter of seconds, both were engaged in a duel. Harmless spells flew from their wands while powerful shields blocked. With a simple exchange of looks, their spells started to become more and more dangerous, testing their abilities for a real life battle and both were happy to see that they were perfectly able to shield and dodge the spells without getting harmed.

Harry's power, increased by the use of the Elder Wand, was evenly matched by Hermione and her seemingly endless knowledge of different spells and shields. After almost ten minutes, they were both tired and they went back to only using harmless spells in case one of their shields failed.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted but Hermione quickly dodged his spell and fired a particularly powerful Tickling Charm at his friend.

"What's so fun, Harry?" she teased, giggling as Harry's laughter filled the air.

But she was so pleased with herself after having finally hit him that she didn't have time to shield from his next spell.

"Alarte Ascendare" said Harry pointing the Elder Wand to his best friend and Hermione was suddenly shoot high in the air.

Surprised, she desperately tried to cast a Cushioning Charm on the sand but her aim was poor from the air. Obviously, Harry wouldn't let her fall and he quickly cast another spell to slow her fall making it far easier to catch her before she hit the sand.

"That's cheating!" she complained "Rules of duelling say that there should be no physical contact!"

Harry laughed without letting her go, the feel of her in his arms was just too pleasant to give it up so soon.

"Who cares about rules?"

"Harry! Let me go!" she screamed trying to get back to the ground to continue duelling but Harry started to spin her around causing her to laugh while she asked him to lower her to the ground.

After some minutes struggling, they both ended up on the sand, fighting like small children. They knew it was ridiculous, but neither of them could remember when had been the last time they had had so much fun.

"I won!" Hermione announced after picking up Harry's forgotten wand from the sand.

Exhausted, Harry fell back on the sand accepting her victory and she fell next to him, their breathing still heavy after the moment they shared. Harry was still laughing for the effects of the Tickling Charm Hermione had cast upon him only minutes ago and the sweet sound of his laughter quickly had Hermione softly laughing too.

"Finite incantatem" she whispered pointing her wand at him and with a deep breath, Harry's laughter finally stopped.

"Thanks" he breathed out tired.

"That was fun" Hermione smiled, both of them were relaxed after their duel, laying on the sand and contemplating the first starts of the night shining on the sky.

"I think I really needed that…" Harry admitted and he moved his head to watch her while she watched the stars. He couldn't imagine where he would be now if it wasn't for her.

Unconsciously, they reached out to hold each other's hand and Harry was surprised when he discovered that her hand was warm and soft as it used to be for the first time since the incident in Malfoy Manor.

"You're not cold anymore…" Harry whispered taking her hand to his lips to feel her warm skin and Hermione blushed slightly at the feel of his lips.

"You're right, I'm not…" she smiled realising that the cold feeling she had been unable to shake ever since they've escaped Malfoy Manor had finally vanished.

They remained like that for a long while, lying in the sand and holding each other's hands. They hadn't stopped to consider when their relationship had started to have this new physical shade but they were both pretty comfortable with the contact. After the horrors they had recently been through both had developed the need to constantly make sure that the other was alright and physical contact was the easiest way to do that.

"Is this wrong?" Hermione asked trying to find his eyes and in a second Harry's green eyes met hers.

"What?"

"Laughing. Is enjoying ourselves wrong with everything that going on? After what happened to Ron?" she asked this time, her voice shaky.

"I don't know what happens when one dies, but I know that if I died, I'd be happy to hear you laughing."

"But the war… and Ron and…"

"Maybe those are exactly the reasons why we needed this. Don't feel guilty, Hermione. You being depressed is not going to stop the war or bring Ron back… It's ok to smile and laugh a little, even in this dark times."

"Thank you" she said with a sincere smile in her lips "Thank you for sharing this moment with me."

"Anytime" he smiled back at her and they both looked back up at the stars.

"Another day's passed and we are not making any progress" Hermione said after another short moment of comfortable silence.

"I don't know what to do…" Harry admitted.

"Maybe it's time to stop doing everything on our own…" she suggested carefully "Talking with Bill about McGonagall worked pretty well. He and Fleur work for Gringotts, maybe…"

"I don't know… we were supposed to do this alone. The secret was…"

"It was Dumbledore's secret, Harry. Not ours… As sad as it may be, he's gone now. This is our mission" Hermione sat on the sand and pulled him up too, their eyes met in the darkness and for the first time Harry started to consider that maybe they didn't need to be alone.

"I don't know…"

"I trust Bill. He's just lost his brother because of You-Know-Who. We could get help, we don't even need to tell them the whole truth."

"Even when you said you had your doubts about him, you were convinced that Dumbledore was right when I wanted to see the memories, why change your mind about doing as he said now?"

"Because I'm confused. And scared… and I really, _really_ don't want to discover that the man I've always looked up to was not the person I thought him to be…" she took another deep breath before she continued "I'm scared about what kind of information the memories may contain, that's the reason why I didn't want you to see them right away… Maybe Dumbledore was right about the secret too but I don't want to put my life at risk to see if he was right. We're alone, Harry… we don't want to die, our best shot is to ask for help."

"I know…" he said accepting the undeniable truth of her words. "We'll talk to Bill and Fleur" he decided at the end "Maybe we do need help."


	6. Breaking Apart

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.:**_ _I'm back!  
I'm sorry for taking so long to update… I've had some very complicated weeks and I kept writing and rewriting this chapter but it just wouldn't come out right. Today I've finally managed to finish it and I'm surprised and happy with the result. It's totally different from what I'd planned but I like it. I hope you like it too. _

_PS: Thank you all for your reviews, especially to my new reader The Ghostly Minion, who took the time to review every chapter and inspired me to finally sit down to write this one._

 _PS2: Just to clear things up, Ginny_ _should_ _be at Hogwarts but when Molly and Arthur learned that Ron would die, they managed to get Minerva to allow her to go say goodbye to his brother before he died. She's going back to school right away since she was only allowed to leave the castle for two nights._

 _Let me know if you liked it in the review box! ;)_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5: Breaking Apart**_

Harry and Hermione didn't know what they expected when they entered the kitchen, but they certainly had not been expecting to find a crying Ginny standing in the middle of the room screaming at her brothers .

"What's going on here?" Harry whispered in Hermione's ear and she shrugged.

"I didn't know Charlie had made it…" Hermione commented at the sight of the second oldest Weasley.

But Harry couldn't answer. Ginny's shouting soon made it impossible to talk about anything else.

"And I'm telling you that I'm not going back to school! I want to fight!" she yelled, tears staining her cheeks.

"You should have gone with mum and dad, Gin" Bill said trying to remain calm.

"You're going back to Hogwarts, Ginny" Charlie spoke this time "I'll apparate you to Hogsmeade and Professor McGonagall will take you back to the castle as we agreed. Please, it's been a long day… Just give it a rest."

"Stop treating me like a child!" she shrieked and before anyone could do anything to stop her, she had her wand out and had sent a blasting hex to a wall, shattering half of the window in the process.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry said, his reflexes quicker than anyone else's in the room thanks to having spent so long running from danger.

Ginny's wand was in Harry's hand before she could even try to understand what had happened and when her eyes finally landed on him she the already broken pieces of her heart shattered into even smaller pieces. Harry had a protective arm around a shaking Hermione. Apparently, she had been very traumatized after the incident in Malfoy Manor and the small explosion Ginny had caused had scared her.

There was nothing overly strange in the way he was holding her close to his body with one arms and whispering softly in her ear, but the image was just too much for her to bear. In a rational level, Ginny knew that Harry loved Hermione and she loved him back. As much as Ginny herself loved the green eyed boy, she had to admit that he would never be as happy with her as he could be with Hermione but knowing all of that didn't make seeing them together any easier.

"Maybe if you want us to stop treating you like that you should stop acting like a bloody child!" it was Fred who broke the silence and yelled back at his sister. "In case you haven't noticed, this is a war, Gin! You're not the only one who's lost her brother."

For a second, Ginny gave her brother a look full of hurt and rage and she stormed past Harry and Hermione without a word, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Don't you dare go past the barriers, Ginevra! You'll get yourself killed" Charlie shouted through the broken window.

"I'm not stupid!" they heard her broken voice yell back from a distance, apparently she was running as fast as she could as far as her legs could take her.

"You ok?" Harry whispered in Hermione's ear and he felt her taking a deep breath against his neck, the soft caress of her breathing on his skin was intoxicating.

"Yeah… I'm fine, that explosion just scared me a little" she whispered reluctantly pulling away from his body and giving him a weak smile. "What happened to her?" Hermione asked Bill this time.

"She'll be ok, she's just grieving. We all are… Ginny is just… louder about it."

"Nice way with words, brother" George said sarcastically while he poured himself some firewhiskey from a bottle resting in the table and drowned it in one sip.

"I'd say she's just acting like the spoiled little girl she's always been." Fred said annoyed by his sister's childish behaviour.

"That's enough guys" Bill said taking a seat next to the twins. "All of this is hard enough already, I don't want to add a fight between us to mum's grief over Ron."

The twins nodded and, for a moment, silence filled the room while Bill joined his brothers and drowned a glass of firewhiskey.

Harry and Hermione joined the table quietly. The young witch reached for a forgotten cup of tea that was resting in the table and heated it with a simple spell.

"You're freezing again" Harry whispered surprised when his hand reached her free one almost out of reflex.

"I'm ok" she said quietly and hid her pale face behind the cup taking a sip of tea.

"The effects of extended exposure to the Cruciatus Curse can take days to fade away" Bill said answering Harry's unspoken question. "She's doing better than I would have expected… All that's left to do now is wait."

"Bill…" Hermione spoke with a more serious tone now "I know now's probably not the best time… but we need to talk to you. It's important."

"Yes of course, could you guys give us a minute?" Bill asked his brothers and they all agreed. A few moments later, Harry, Hermione and Bill were the only ones around the table.

"You know we've been hiding for months by now" Harry started.

"Something tells me you've not been just hiding…"

"We've been working to defeat You-Know-Who since we left the wedding. Dumbledore left the three of us a mission, he said that we couldn't tell anyone but look where that's brought us." Harry's voice shook a little, a small lump forming in his throat "One of the reasons why your brother died is because we were alone and we didn't have anyone to ask for help… I won't let that happen again."

His eyes fell on Hermione for a small moment. But a small moment was enough for Bill to get the message. It was so clear, it was almost as if the words were written across Harry's forehead. Bill was certain that the young wizard would die before letting anything happen to Hermione.

"How can I help?"

Hermione smiled, that was what she liked about the oldest Weasley. He didn't ask questions, he was willing to help them in a second. He was willing to help them even before they had to ask.

"Do you know what a hor…"

"Wait!" Hermione interrupted Harry and he gave her a questioning look. Instead of answering, she just cast a privacy bubble around the table. "Just in case" she said softly and Harry nodded turning his attention back to Bill.

"Bill, do you know what a horcrux is?" this time, Harry finished his question.

Bill's expression hardened at the mention of the word and he frowned deeply.

"I've come across one or two during my time in Egypt. They're one of the darkest and most dangerous pieces of magic known. Do you… do you believe that You-Know-Who is trying to make a horcrux?"

"It's actually worse than that…" Harry started. "We believe he has successfully created six of them, splitting his soul in seven pieces."

"That's impossible… The Horcrux Curse is one of the darkest rituals that exist. We've studied it with the team of Curse Breakers in Egypt, to think that someone could successfully make more than one… let alone six of them…" he took a deep breath still finding it all too difficult to believe. "That's just… impossible" he said again,

"It's not" Hermione spoke this time, her voice firm and convincing. "Three of them have already been destroyed."

"You destroyed three horcruxes?!" Bill was so surprised that he practically choked on his own words.

"Not really. Actually Harry only destroyed one. Back in second year, when Ginny was taken into the Chamber of Secrets… Tom Riddle's diary happened to be a horcrux, Harry stabbed with a basilisk fang without knowing what it actually was." She told him.

"The second one was destroyed by Professor Dumbledore. It was an ancient ring with a very nasty curse on it. Apparently if he hadn't been killed on the Astronomy Tower, the curse would have killed him shortly after the end of the year."

"How did he manage to…?" Bill asked too surprised by all this information to finish his question.

"He destroyed it with the Sword of Gryffindor. The third one was destroyed using the sword too. Ron did it a while before we got caught and taken to Malfoy Manor." Harry sighed, the memory of his best friend still too fresh on his mind… it was almost impossible to believe that he would never see Ron's face again. "He actually saved my life that night…"

Hermione took Harry's hand under the table when she felt his voice starting to break and they decided to give Bill a moment to process all the new information. Silence extended over them cold like a thin blanket of snow. Watching how worried Bill looked after hearing what they had been up to, reminded Harry and Hermione of how dangerous their mission actually was, how it was much more probable that they would die trying to defeat Voldemort than actually survive the fall of the Dark Lord.

"Is that what you've been up to since you disappeared during the wedding? Trying to find and destroy these objects?" Bill finally asked stunned by how unbelievable it all seemed.

"Yes" Harry confirmed and for the first time in a very long time, he felt an enormous weight being lifted from his shoulders. Sharing the nature of the terrible mission Dumbledore had left him felt like taking a breath after being underwater for almost too long. Finally somebody else knew, finally they had someone who would help them.

"And do you… do you still have the weapon to destroy them?" Bill asked again.

Harry looked at Hermione with pleading eyes. It was the first time since they had arrived that he worried about their things. They had been captured, it was entirely possible that Hermione's bag had been lost just like her wand and their abandoned tent.

"It's in my bag" she reassured him "I managed to hide it inside my sock while they were taking us to Malfoy Manor. The sword is there, perfectly safe. Your cloak and the rest of your things too"

"I'll never tire of saying this, Hermione. You're bloody brilliant!" Harry said surprised that she had managed to keep her bag hidden even when she had been tortured halfway through madness.

Before she spoke again, a warm smile shone in Hermione's lips "We believe that the next horcrux is hidden in Gringotts, more precisely inside the Lestrange's vault."

"What? How would you know that?"

"Two of the horcruxes that have already been destroyed had been given to two of Voldemort's closest followers, Lucius Malfoy and Regulus Black, to hide. Black turned on his master when he learned about the nature of the objects and he looked for the one he knew where was hidden to destroy it. He had planned on destroying them all but he died before he could even destroy that one. It's only logical that a third one was given to Bellatrix. It's known that the Lestranges are among the closest and most loyal of You-Know-Who's followers." Hermione explained, her argument making perfect sense. "Besides, she went _completely_ out of her mind while she was torturing me…" her voice broke for a second and she had to take a deep breath before she could keep talking. "She thought we had broken into her vault. It has to be it. I _know_ it…"

And not even Bill Weasley had the guts to contradict the brightest witch of her age when she was so deadly sure about something.

"I know we don't have much proof, but one of them being hidden in Gringotts makes perfect sense… And nobody is more loyal to him than Bellatrix." Harry spoke this time squeezing Hermione's hand under the table. The simple mention of the moments Bellatrix had spent torturing her had the young witch shaking again.

After a long moment of thinking, Bill finally nodded in agreement.

"I does make sense…" he said. "But if you're planning on getting into Gringotts and stealing something from one of the most heavily guarded vaults… I must tell you that it's almost impossible."

Hermione's face fell with disappointment.

"It's been done before." Harry said recalling his first year.

"Yes, but that vault was empty. The security was minimal…"

"There has to be a way…" the witch said.

"I'm sorry. It's impossible… No one's ever stolen anything from those vaults since they were built. There's no way in unless you're the owner or its rightful heir."

"It's impossible to survive a Death Curse, yet here I am." Harry said, his voice firm and strong "Destroying these objects is the only way to finally kill Vol…"

"Harry!" Hermione screamed and he stopped himself before he finished the name. They really didn't want another episode with the snatchers… He was glad that she had stopped him but not being able to even say his name did nothing but increase Harry's anger.

"There has to be a way!" he almost shouted.

He got up in frustration and took a few steps towards the window running a hand through his already messy hair. "After everything he's done, all the people he's killed. He _can't_ win!"

"Harry now's not the time to lose your temper out of frustration…" Hermione went immediately after him and placed a soft hand in his shoulder "I know what you've been through but…"

"You don't know what I've been through!" he couldn't stop himself from yelling at her.

"What!" her voice instantly matched his "Honestly Harry?" Her eyes started to shine with tears "I've been by your side since we were bloody children! I've risked my life for you a thousand times! I've followed you into battle without a second thought! I've lost my parents!" she cried. "And you're telling me that I don't know what you've been through?!"

"Then if I'm to blame for all your misery why the bloody hell are you still with me?!" he shouted back.

"Because I…" she stopped herself before she could finish her sentence and tried to blink away her tears. Had she really been about to say what her conscious was screaming at her? She took a deep breath before she spoke again, burying the thought of what she had been about to say as deep in her mind as she could "Harry, what you're feeling is completely normal. You can't let all this stress take over now of all times."

"You don't know what it feels like, Hermione!" Harry continued. He was exploding, the words were unstoppable, he felt that if he didn't get it all out of his system the pain would consume him from inside "He's taken my parents, my childhood, every single person that ever cared about me! He's taken _everything_ from me…" he was breathing heavily again, his voice shaking with unshed tears, the pain of an entire life of suffering suddenly becoming much more than he could take "Destroying him is the only thing I have left!" he shouted and it sounded like a thunder, so loud and powerful that Hermione couldn't stop herself from shivering

"Harry don't say that… We're fighting because it is the right thing to do, because we want to live in a better world, not because you're taking revenge…" this time, she reached to touch his face but he shook her hand away. She had never seen him in so much pain, not even when Sirius had died, not ever. "You can't walk into battle with this nonsense about revenge stuck in your head. If the only thing you care about is destroying him you're gonna get yourself killed!" she cried.

"THEN SO BE IT!"

She was silent for a moment after those words. There was no way he was giving up. She wouldn't let him…

"Harry Potter, you're better than this! You're a good man! You have people who love you! You've said it yourself, we have the only thing he doesn't. We have something to fight for!" she raised her broken voice in a desperate attempt to make him see reason. "You promised me we'd survive this war…" she finished with a whisper, tears were running down her face freely while Harry's eyes shone with a thick layer of tears he wouldn't let himself shed.

"You don't understand! I have _nothing_!" he yelled in pain "I may have something to fight for, to die for… The need of wiping him from existence. Then I'm done. I don't care about anything anymore."

"That's rubbish and you know it!" she screamed "You care, you care because you're alive!"

"You're wrong, Hermione. I've lost everything! I don't have nothing to live for!"

"YOU HAVE ME!" she cried desperately trying to touch him, to hold him. Somehow she felt like she was about to lose him for good.

"IT'S NOT ENOUGH!"

His words hit her like a stunning spell. She felt like she couldn't breath, like she couldn't talk. All she could do was watch him. He was shaking with rage and pain and frustration… and there she was, petrified by his words, unable to make a sound.

His green eyes met hers for a long moment. Her pain mirrored his and although he didn't want to accept it, she knew that she _did_ get it. She understood him better than anyone, she knew his pain, every horror he had told her about late at night next to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, every terrible thing about his childhood that he had never been able to confide to anyone but her. She did get it. She had learnt the hard way what was like to have no one, no home to go back to, no parents to take care of her. Just the war, fear and danger in ahead of her. Death lurking around every corner, and what was even worse… the constant presence of that small dark voice hidden in the deepest darkest corner of her mind. That voice that softly whispered that death was so much easier than fighting. That small voice that whispered ' _maybe you're better off dead_ '.

She did understand. But she wasn't going to let the darkness inside of her win. She wanted to fight, she wanted to live. She'd do it for herself and she'd do it for him. Because he was the only one she had left, she wasn't gonna let the war take him too. Harry was everything for her, but if she was not enough for him…

Hermione closed her eyes in pain and one of her hands flew to her chest almost as if she were trying hold her heart before it shattered into pieces. When she opened her eyes, Harry was frozen in front of her, tears cascading silently down his face.

"Hermione…" he whispered coming back to his senses and he took a step towards her slowly raising his hand to touch her. She looked like she was about to collapse into a million tiny pieces. She had never looked so… _breakable_.

"Don't" she whispered though the massive lump in her throat and she took a step back.

"Hermione I didn't…" he tried again but she didn't listen. One moment she was there and the next one she was gone. A loud _crack_ filling the air and her absence filling the room. "Hermione!" this time he shouted but she was no longer there to hear him.

"She didn't leave, Harry. It's impossible to apparate outside the wards. She's probably just upstairs…" Bill's voice surprised him. He had forgotten about the oldest Weasley's presence.

"No… I'm sorry… I didn't… I didn't mean it. I have to find her!" he took a few steps towards the stairs "I have to tell her…"

But before he could reach the stairs, Bill stopped him holding him back while he struggled to go after Hermione.

"Leave her. Give her some time to cry it out, clear your mind. You'll only hurt her even more if you go after her right now."

"You don't understand, Bill. I need her, she needs me!"

"I know…" Bill forced Harry to look him in the eye "I _know_ , Harry."

And he did know. He knew what Harry felt. He knew what it was like to love somebody that much in the middle of such a dangerous situation. He knew what it felt to constantly be afraid to lose the woman you loved to the war. He could only imagine what it felt to be Harry. Eternally haunted by the most powerful Dark Wizard know in centuries, constantly placing her in danger and still unable to live without her. He could see it in the young wizard's eyes. Whether he knew it or not, his love for Hermione shone in his eyes like a thunderstorm.

"Sit down, calm down. I'll get you something to drink and then you can go get her" Bill said and when he was sure that Harry was not going to run towards the stairs again, he let him go.

Harry fell on the couch and buried his head in his hands. Bill hurt for him when he saw the young man's shoulders shaking with sobs but he decided to give him a moment and let him cry while he went into the kitchen to prepare a Calming Draught and poured some firewhiskey for Harry and for himself. The potion took ten minutes to brew but he decided to wait in the kitchen and give Harry a moment alone.

When the red haired man went back into the room with the potion ready and two glasses of firewhiskey, Harry was wiping away his tears. He made to take the glass containing alcohol but Bill stopped him again.

"Take the Calming Draught first. You look like you need it" he said.

Harry gave him a small smile that didn't reach his eyes and took the other glass drinking its contents in a long single sip.

"Thank you" he said and this time Bill didn't stop him when he took the glass of firewhiskey.

"How are you?"

Harry felt tempted to shrug and say ' _I'm fine_ ' like he did almost every time somebody asked him that but this time, he couldn't even fool himself long enough to say the words. He knew Bill wouldn't judge him, he was a good man, he had offered to help them in a heartbeat. Harry knew he could trust him.

"I don't know what happened to me… I feel like I'm going crazy." He admitted after a small sip of the golden liquid. "I hurt her, that's the last thing I've ever wanted to do…"

"You've been through a lot, both of you. She'll understand" Bill assured him "But you can't let that happen again. You can't lash out at her just because you love her. That's not how it works, that's just going to hurt you both."

Harry didn't even try to deny the fact that he loved her, maybe that was it. Maybe he did love her and that was why he had tried to hurt her. He knew he couldn't live without her but something deep inside him wanted to push her as far away as possible. That was the only way she was ever going to be truly safe: away from him.

"It's not your choice to make, Harry" Bill said almost as if he had read Harry's thoughts. "Merlin knows that if she hadn't met me Fleur would be still in France, away from all of this, safe from the war. But she chose me instead. She chose love over safety."

"I'm terrified of losing her to this war…"

"In these dark times, the only thing we have left is our choice. Whether we fight or not, whether we accept the dangerous challenge of love or we run away in hope to find safety… You shouldn't take that choice away from her…"

Harry nodded even when he didn't completely understand Bill's words and he took another sip of firewhiskey. At least Hermione had erected a privacy bubble, nobody other than Bill had heard their fight.

"I'm sorry" Bill said and Harry turned to look at him, completely surprised by his words.

"About what?" He asked, confused.

"You've been beating the odds since you were one year old. You've saved us all being nothing but a young boy. You've killed a basilisk, fought a dragon, faced You-Know-Who himself more than once… I shouldn't have said that getting into Gringotts is impossible. I know that the idea of being unable to finish your mission is what set you off. I shouldn't have said that."

"Do you mean it?" Harry asked "Do you really think we can break into Gringotts and get that horcrux?"

Bill took a moment before answering him "I think we have to try… You mind if I talk to Fleur? We've been working for the bank for a while Maybe we can come up with something."

"Of course, you can tell her…" Harry said without a shade of doubt, he trusted Bill and Fleur. "Just be careful, I don't want more people than necessary knowing."

"You can trust me…"

"I know" he sighed "Thank you, Bill."

"I think that potion has made some effect. You should go see her now. Just try not to lash out again… she loves you too, you know?"

Harry frowned in confusion.

"How…?"

"I just know. Trust me" Bill smiled at him and raised his glass in an invisible toast.

Harry nodded and got up to go find go Hermione but before he reached the stairs, Bill's voice stopped him again.

"You're right, Harry. There has to be a way, we won't let him win."

"We won't" Harry nodded "We'll end this."


	7. Holding On to Life

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.:**_ _This one picks up right when the last one ended. Thank you all for the amazing reviews! You make me really really happy!_

 _PS: Thanks to meldz for pointing out that I made a mistake and wrote Rabastan Black instead of Regulus Black. I was so carried away with the idea of writing Harry's breakdown that probably I just wrote the first name beginning with R that came to my mind. Sorry!_

 _Please plase let me know what you thought about this one!_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7: Holding On to Life**_

Slowly, Harry opened the door to find a dark room on the other side. He couldn't see anything, but the sound of a sobbing Hermione gave away her presence.

"Leave…" he heard her whisper between sobs.

"Hermione…" he walked the few steps that separated the door from the small bed and kneeled on the floor next to the it. She was lying with her head buried in the pillow, her back shaking with small sobs. He reached for her hand but he was only able to touch her for a second before she pushed him away. Her skin was ice cold, she was scared and crying and it was all because of him…

"Leave me alone" she sobbed into the pillow.

"No way in hell" Harry said in a soft but determined voice.

Kneeling on the floor next to the bed, Harry allowed his chin to rest on the mattress near her and started tugging on the blanket that was covering Hermione's face. She tried to resist for a moment, but all the energy that was left in her body was being spent crying so she literally was not strong enough to hold on to the blanket and soon her wet face was exposed to Harry's eyes. She shut her eyes closed, still refusing to let him see the depths of her pain.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered so softly that if she hadn't been so close, she wouldn't have heard him.

This time, when he reached for her hand, she didn't have the strength to pull away. She was still shaking with every loud sob, they were well past the point of hiding from each other when they cried.

Although her mind screamed at her to make Harry leave by any means necessary and never let him come near her again, Hermione was unable to find the strength in her to even tell him to leave her alone again. He had been the one to cause her pain, that was true; but what was also true was that he was the only person alive capable of calming her.

"I didn't mean to hurt you…" Harry said again, his soft voice and few words filling the silence in the room, mixing with the sound of her sobs.

Still with her eyes closed, Hermione felt him take her hand between his. Judging by how warm his skin felt against hers, she figured that her hands must've been freezing cold. Without a word he closed his hands around hers to make a small refuge and gently blown into it. His breath slowly warming up her freezing skin. With each blow, Hermione felt the warm sensation tickling her skin and extending across her body. It felt like a warm healing blanket slowly covering her.

He took his time, breathing warm air in and out and once he was satisfied, he took her other hand and repeated the process. A few minutes passed in silence as he carefully warmed her hands and she let him do it without saying a word. Tears were still falling down her cheeks, but her sobs grew more and more quiet as the skin of her hands grew warmer.

Once Harry was satisfied with the temperature, he took both of her hands in his and she felt his lips slightly touching her knuckles. One kiss for every knuckle. His lips grazed her skin with the softness of a spring morning breeze and she felt herself taking a deep breath, her body stopped shaking, her sobs faded into silence.

"Look at me, Hermione… Please" he whispered in the silence.

She could hear the lump in his throat, she'd felt how sorry he was while he silently warmed her hands, unknowingly warming her entire soul in the process.

But his voice was still echoing in her mind, lurking around the darkest corners of her imagination; right there, where her nightmares were created.

" _I have nothing! I may have something to fight for, to die for… The need of wiping him from existence. Then I'm done. I don't care about anything anymore."_

" _That's rubbish and you know it! You care, you care because you're alive!"_

" _You're wrong, Hermione. I've lost everything! I don't have anything to live for!"_

" _YOU HAVE ME!"_

" _IT'S NOT ENOUGH!"_

She shuddered at the memory. He'd seemed so sure of his words… while he had been yelling at her, Hermione had been able to feel him breaking every string of the promise he had made so little ago. She had seen his desire to survive dying in his eyes… the need for revenge, the need to hurt the wizard who'd taken everything away from him and had made his like a living hell had been burning from the deepest corners of his soul. And when she had tried to come near him, reminding him that whatever happened she was always going to be by his side because she was simply _his_ , the flames burning inside of him had engulfed her too. Like Icarus, she had tried to get too near the sun, and she had been burnt. Now, she didn't want to let her personal sun near her anymore… but who could she fool? It was not her choice, Harry was already too close. It felt like he was a part of her very soul, a very important part, maybe even the most important part. And the simple thought of losing him…

Without thinking, Hermione opened her eyes in a desperate desire to get rid of the nightmarish image of loosing Harry.

Her brown puffy eyes met his and a shadow of the smallest of smiles coloured Harry's lips for a second, a faint spark shining in his green eyes at the sight of her.

"I swear I didn't want to hurt you…" Harry whispered again, looking deeply into her eyes and trying to convey through their looks everything he felt but couldn't bring himself to put into words. "I _hate_ to make you cry…"

"Did you really mean it?" she asked with the weakest of voices, fear shining in her eyes.

"Which part?" he asked this time, silently promising himself that he wouldn't lie to her.

"When you said you didn't have anything to live for…" her voice was such a weak string of sound that Harry thought that the smallest of breezes could have silenced it. He was barely able to hear her, but she was right… he _had_ indeed said that, and that was the real reason why she was wearing that broken look in her eyes.

"I have you, don't I?" He tried to smile and failed.

"You…" she began to speak but her words died in a small sob. Letting go of his hands, Hermione turned around on the bed facing the wall to hide her tears "You said that wasn't enough." The broken whisper felt like a torturing curse to Harry's ears.

When he didn't answer, he saw her body starting to shake with tears again and he hated himself for hurting her like that. Without a word, he climbed onto the small bed behind her. He was no longer capable to resist the urge of holding her against his body and Hermione didn't fight him when she felt him wrapping his arms around her. He hid his face in the space between her neck and shoulder while he held her as close as he could against his chest.

Hermione sighed, overwhelmed by his presence. She could feel his heart beating against her back, his breathing next to her ear, his strong arms around her body. All she wanted was to close her eyes and disappear into that moment. She felt safe for the first time in longer than she could remember.

"I wasn't thinking…" he whispered softly against her ear. "I've never been more wrong in my life… I'm so sorry that I've hurt you like that…"

"You promised we…" but she couldn't finish, tears had stolen her ability to create long and meaningful sentences.

"...We'd survive the war" he finished for her "And I meant it…" He took a deep breath and he allowed his right hand to find hers in the mess of intertwined limbs they were before he spoke again "If it were for me, I'd die without a second thought only to make sure that I take him with me…" Harry said honestly "But it's not about me anymore, Hermione. My _life_ is not only about me anymore… It's about you, about who we are together."

He remained silent for a moment and Hermione felt the words sinking deep within her heart, healing her, strengthening her soul. She got what he said better than anyone could have. It was the same for her. There was no Harry and no Hermione, in her mind there was no place where one ended and the other began. What they had was unbreakable. He wouldn't leave her, what they had was just too strong to allow one to leave the other behind.

She took his right hand in hers and raised it to her lips to place a small kiss on his skin. Harry felt her tears in his hand where she kissed him and he couldn't resist his own need to place a soft kiss in the creamy skin of her neck, right on the spot where he could feel her pulse screaming that she was alive.

They stayed like that for a moment, her back pressed against his chest, his lips softly caressing that pulsing spot in her neck and her lips whispering a silent confession while she held on to him.

He didn't hear what she was saying, but somehow he _felt_ it. And it felt like magic.

"To answer your question…" He spoke again after what felt like an eternity "I _did_ mean it. If I didn't have anything left, I wouldn't hesitate to pay the price of ending Tom Riddle with my life. But I still have you, don't I?" silence filled the room for an endless second, and then, Harry felt her nod her head slightly "Don't I?" he asked again, because he needed her to say it more than he needed the air in his lungs.

"You do…" Hermione whispered "You'll _always_ have me."

Harry sighed in relief, his breath tickling her neck "Always…" He muttered testing the word on his lips "Then I'm not going anywhere" he assured her "You're the most important thing in my life."

Hermione felt a shudder running through her spine at the words. She didn't need to say them back for him to know that she felt the same but, just in case he had forgotten, Hermione turned around in his arms and faced him. She allowed herself to get lost in the seemingly endless depths of his green eyes and with that look, she told him that he too was the most important thing in _her_ life without needing to say the words at all.

"There's nothing I'd choose over you" he said without breaking their eye contact.

"You promise?"

"I promise" he said without a shade of doubt and she closed her eyes with a smile "Hermione, I lo…" the words had been about to roll off his lips before he could even process what he was about to say, but she stopped him right on time.

"Shh…" she interrupted him placing a finger on his lips "Don't say it. I want to hear it when it's all over… I want to hear you say it once we've survived" she begged and he nodded.

He'd never been so close to her before and suddenly, he felt entirely overwhelmed by an incredible urge to kiss her. It was so simple, so natural. There were no questions about it. And he could see the same need burning in her eyes too. They were only mere inches away, it could have been so easy…

"But it's not the right time" she whispered and he felt her breath touching his lips. Their connection in that moment felt so strong that her words seemed a continuation of his thoughts.

Ignoring her words would've been the easiest thing in the world. She'd said them so softly that he wasn't even sure of having heard correctly. One move could've changed it all, one move seemed to promise him a glimpse of paradise… but she was right. So, before his body decided what to do for him, he closed his eyes and placed the kiss that was itching between his lips on Hermione's forehead. She sighed deeply and after a moment, allowed her head to rest on his chest. That was her favourite spot in the world, right there, in Harry's arms and with his heartbeat lulling her to sleep.

"Goodnight, Hermione" he whispered against her hair. They didn't even need to ask questions about the fact that he'd be sharing the small bed with her even when there was a twin bed for him on the opposite wall.

"Goodnight" she smiled and before she knew it, she closed her eyes and sleep took over.

For the first time in months, they fell asleep together drifting to a universe without nightmares.

Neither of them imagined that only two hours after that, they would be woken up again. Apparently, war never slept.

* * *

The stars were still shining high in the dark night sky while Bill Weasley sat alone in the kitchen trying desperately to come up with some way to break the defenses of Gringotts. He couldn't sleep, the disturbing image of his youngest brother's rotting flesh still too fresh in his memory to be able to avoid the nightmares.

Finally, he had something to do so he was creating and discarding plan after plan while he analyzed an old map of the bank. It didn't help that they didn't even know the number of the Lestrange's vault.

Tired of coming up with useless ideas, Bill decided to take a break but he still wasn't tired enough to avoid the nightmares so he went outside to breath some salty air.

Standing outside Shell Cottage, with the wind playing in his hair and listening to the soft songs of the ocean, it was almost possible to forget about the war and the terrible dangers that were threatening the Wizarding World. If he hadn't been so distracted, Bill would have remembered that things usually only seemed that calm before something went wrong.

And indeed, something did go wrong.

As it could be expected given the fact that it was owned by a powerful cursebreaker, Shell Cottage was protected by many layers of very powerful wards that only allowed the few members left in the Order of the Phoenix to trespass them. That was the reason why when a hooded human figure apparated a few miles away, Bill's first reaction hadn't been to hex that person.

"Help! Please!" a voice cried and before he thought about it, Bill had his wand in his hand.

It had to be someone from the Order, otherwise the witch or wizard wouldn't have been able to get pass the deadly wards Bill had in place.

"Help…" the wizard -at least it sounded like a wizard- cried again struggling to make his way towards the Cottage.

After a moment's hesitation, Bill finally decided to risk it and run towards the wizard.

"Help me, please" this time, Bill recognized the familiar voice of the man who was begging for help.

"Remus" he said in shock and he rushed to help his friend. "What happened?" he asked in the dark as soon as he was close enough.

"They took her, I couldn't save her…" he cried. The werewolf was holding a small bundle of blankets close to his chest with one arm and with the little light provided by the stars, Bill noticed that he was shaking and seemed to be in pain.

"What?" Bill asked while he tried to help him walk towards the cottage.

"Death Eaters… They have Dora" Remus coughed and Bill was surprised to discover that he was covered in blood.

Bill couldn't believe what he had heard. Only a few hours ago, Remus had sent an owl telling him that he and Dora were in St. Mungo's because the baby was coming. A guard of six order members had gone with them to protect them and they had both been under glamours to change their appearance. Everyone had been sure that they were safe. But apparently, something had gone wrong…

"What? How?"

"They attacked the hospital, Bill. At least ten people died… They took Dora" he repeated again and Bill could easily hear a lump in his throat.

"Where's… where's your baby?" he asked trying to hide the fear from his voice.

"I managed to apparate away with him, but I couldn't save Dora… I couldn't save her…"

Evidently, Remus was too shocked to maintain a coherent conversation but Bill felt relief filling his chest when he lit his wand and pointed it to the small bundle of blankets in Remus' arms to discover that he was actually holding a baby.

"It's ok, Remus… Let's get you both inside…"

But when Bill tried to take one of Remus' arms, the man cried out in pain.

"Is that blood yours?" the young wizard asked shocked.

"Bone shattering curse" Remus said as means of explanation.

"Ok, I'll be careful… Let's go inside."

The struggle woke up some of the people sleeping in the cottage and when Bill and Remus finally entered the Cottage, the oldest Weasley saw Harry and Hermione with their wands raised while they rushed down the stairs to see what was going on.

"It's ok, there's no danger" Bill said and they lowered their wands.

"Remus?" Harry said in confusion when he finally reached them.

"Harry… take him" before the young wizard could do anything, Remus pushed a small bundle of blankets into his arms and collapsed in Bill's arms.

"Dammit!" Bill cursed struggling to lower Remus into the sofa.

"What's happened? How can I help?" Hermione asked not even paying attention to the shocked look in Harry's eyes while he looked at the bloodied bundle of blankets Remus had placed in his arms.

"Death Eaters attacked St. Mungo's. They took Tonks. Remus is hurt. He said he was hit with a bone shattering curse" Bill informed her quickly and Hermione nodded.

Suddenly, the scared and weak expression that Bill had grown used to see on Hermione's face since Ron's death was replaced by a serious and concentrated look. The witch's wand was out in a second and to Bill's surprise, she easily performed a diagnosis spell.

"It's not good" she mumbled once she finished the spell and kneeled next to her former professor "Remus, can you hear me?"

"Dora… they took her…"

"Shh…" She tried to calm him "Everything will be ok, now listen to me. I need you to tell me what hit you during the attack. It's important Remus…"

"Ted…" He whispered in pain. "Where's… Ted? Teddy…"

"He's fine" this time it was Bill who answered "He's with Harry…"

Hermione didn't even pay attention to those words and tried to ask again.

"I need to know what hit you so that I can try to fix you, Remus" Hermione repeated.

"Bone shattering curse" he mumbled "Slashing Hex… Cruciatus Curse" Hermione nodded, at least that explained why he was shaking.

"Is that all?" she asked again and he nodded. "He's got two fractured ribs and a broken arm. His left lung's been punctured and that Slashing Hex hit an important artery in his arm" Hermione explained in a rush "Accio Blood Replenishing Potion" she muttered pointing her wand to her handbag -she had brought it with her in case there was danger and they needed to escape- and soon a small flask jumped to her hand "Here, give him this while I try to fix his ribs…"

Bill did what she had said without questioning since he didn't know anything about healing magic and fed Remus the potion while Hermione muttered a long string of healing spells pointing her wand at Remus' chest.

"Brackium Emendo" she said under her breath paying attention to her wand movements. She knew that the same spell with wrong movements could be very dangerous, just as Harry had experienced in his second year when Professor Lockhart had vanished every bone in his arm.

A small _crack_ reached her ears and Hermione smiled knowing that the sound meant that Remus' ribs had been perfectly fixed. With a lot of concentration, she muttered a complicated incantation designed to vanish all the blood from Remus' internal wounds and a healing charm to fix his lung.

"It worked" Bill said surprised watching how Remus' breathing slowly started to come back to normal.

"Yeah, I think it did" the young witch sighed in relief and they watched how the former professor's skin started to slowly gain some colour. "Now his arm…"

Hermione was more relaxed while she fixed Remus' arm because she could see the wounds on which she was working and they were not so dangerous as the fractured ribs had been. After a another spell to fix his bone and a few healing charms, Hermione took two more flasks from her handbag and kneeled next to her former Professor.

"Thank you…" He said and Hermione smiled when she heard his voice, he sounded much better than ten minutes ago.

"You're welcome. It's going to take a few hours until those bones heal completely but you should be fine by morning" she gave him the small flasks and Remus frowned "They're healing potions, I brew them myself. One for the pain, the other for speeding the process of healing the slash on your arm…"

Remus nodded and drank both without arguing.

"You could be a great healer…" he told her with a small smile.

"You'll be as good as new after at least six hours of sleep. That's how long the potion will take to top up your blood levels" she informed him and Remus nodded "How are you feeling?"

"Better…"

"Good, you should sleep now" she took the empty flasks from Remus' hands and muttered a few cleaning charms on his clothes and around him to vanish the blood.

"You really could be a good healer" Bill said surprised by how she had managed the situation.

"Maybe in another life…" she sighed.

"I'll go to write a few letters. I have to tell the bad news to the rest of the order. I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

"Thank you Bill."

Only when the oldest Weasley left the room, Hermione turned around and was surprised to find Harry still standing on the same spot where he had been nearly fifteen minutes ago.

"Harry… are you ok?" Hermione asked worried to see that Harry was still standing frozen on the same spot but when she came closer her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of what Harry was holding in his arms. "Is that?"

"It's the baby…" Harry whispered, his eyes fixed on the small face in the middle of the blankets.

Hermione gasped in surprise. They didn't know that the baby had been born but there he was. The smallest human being she had ever seen, half hidden inside the blankets stained with blood.

"Ted…" she mumbled suddenly understanding why Remus had been so worried about him before she started healing him. "That's why they were in St. Mungo's" she guessed.

"Teddy…" Harry tried the word in a whisper and a small smile grew on his lips "Do you think it's his blood?" he asked Hermione worriedly and she shook her head.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's Remus'. Scourgify" she whispered pointing her wand to the baby and the blood staining the blankets and the baby's cheek vanished. "God, Harry… he's beautiful…"

"He's so light, so fragile. I… I'll break him" Harry said, his entire body was shaking while he held Remus's son carefully.

"Do you want me to…?" she held out her arms.

After a moment's hesitation, Harry nodded.

"I'm scared of dropping him" he said sincerely.

"Of course you won't…" she contradicted him but she decided that it would be safer if she held the baby for a few minutes until Harry relaxed a bit so she carefully took him from his arms "I've got him." she smiled surprised at how light Ted was.

Harry watched her hold his godson and for a split second he forgot about the war, he forgot about the danger around them and about the terrible situation they were going through. He forgot about their fight earlier that day and about the way he had hurt her. For a split second, the only thing that made sense was Hermione holding the newborn baby against her chest, her eyes fixed in his godson's beautiful face. Something stirred inside of him at the sight of the young witch and the baby. Deep in his heart, he felt an ache he had never felt before. There was a big chance that he would never live long enough to hold his own children in his arms, there was a big chance that he would never be a father. And the thought hurt more than he could have ever imagined.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked when she looked up into his eyes and noticed his darkened expression.

"Nothing" he shook away the depressing thoughts and ignored her question. "Let's go to the kitchen to let Remus rest. You look tired, I'll make you some coffee." He tried to change the subject.

"Harry… What's wrong?" she pressed him, holding the baby tightly with one hand so that she could grab Harry's hand with her free one.

His eyes immediately fell to their joined hands and a sad smile coloured his lips. He looked up when he heard a strange sound, it took him a few seconds to figure out that his godson was starting to cry.

"Hush, hush, Teddy" she whispered forgetting Harry for a second to look at the baby "It's ok… You're safe."

At the sound of her voice, the little one calmed a little and the night was silent again.

"Everything's ok" Harry finally answered and Hermione was surprised to see the truth in his eyes.

"You sure?" she asked again and Harry gave her a little smile.

"Yeah" Harry nodded "Let's go get that coffee. I could use one too."

Hermione nodded in agreement but before she could follow him into the kitchen, she heard Remus calling her.

"Hermione…"

"Yes?" She said turning back towards him.

"Do you happen to have some Dreamless Sleep Potion?" he asked with a sleepy voice.

"Yes… We have some left" she nodded "Can you…?" Hermione asked Harry gesturing to the baby with her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll get him. You get the potion"

"There you go" she whispered softly and carefully placed the baby back in Harry's arms. "I think he's asleep…" she smiled at the sight of the small creature sleeping peacefully in his godfather's arms

"How is him? Is he hurt?" Remus asked when he realized that they had the baby.

"He's unscratched" Hermione said while she rummaged in her beaded handbag in search for the potion Remus needed. Harry was still surprised that she had been clever enough to hide the bag and be able to escape Malfoy Manor with it. "You managed to keep him out of harm's way, Remus."

"Take care of him for me tonight" he asked with tired eyes.

"Of course we will" Harry promised.

"I know. That's why we named you godfather…" Remus smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Moony. We'll take care of him until you get better."

The werewolf smiled when he heard his old Marauder name.

"Your father would be very proud of you, Harry…"

Hermione cursed under her breath as a few glass flasks crashed inside her bag interrupting the moment "Sorry… Reparo" she whispered pointing Harry's, no, _her_ wand at the bag and, tired of looking, she just summoned the potion with magic "Here, this is all we have left" she gave Remus the last vial of the potion she had.

"Thank you Hermione" the werewolf said and he took the potion with a relieved sigh.

"We'll be in the kitchen, just call us if you need anything"

"Let's go get that coffee" Harry said making sure that he wouldn't drop his godson and the three of them disappeared behind the kitchen's door.

Since it was Harry who was holding the baby, Hermione heated a bit of water with magic and started making two cups of coffee. After all, they hadn't had much sleep and they really needed the caffeine boost if they were going to look after Teddy all night as they had promised Remus that they would.

"How do you want your coffee?" she asked.

But Harry could not answer because suddenly, Remus's son started to cry in his arms.

"What did I do?" he asked Hermione in panic.

She abandoned her task in the kitchen and immediately went to help Harry.

"You didn't do anything wrong, he's alright" she almost laughed at him and she took the baby from his frozen arms.

"It's not funny, Hermione" he glared at her "What if there's something wrong with him? What is he's hurt?"

"Nothing's wrong" Hermione assured him and she carefully touched the baby's lips with the tip of her finger, the child tried to suck on her skin desperately "You see? He's just hungry."

"How… how did you know?" He asked surprised and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Magic" she joked and she took her wand out to transfigure a glass into a baby bottle and charmed it to eliminate any bacteria the milk could have "Accio milk" she muttered and after a few minutes and a warming charm, Teddy was drinking a bottle of milk and his crying had completely faded. Everything was _so_ much easier with magic…

"You did it!" Harry smiled when his godson stopped crying "You're brilliant, Hermione! Where did you learn that?"

"My mother's sister had a baby girl last summer and I babysat a few times…" she explained, her voice gentle and soft while she fed Teddy.

"Really?" he said but Hermione knew he wasn't exactly paying much attention to their conversation. When she looked at him, she found him staring at his godson's face almost as if he was under a spell. "He's so beautiful…"

"Yeah, he is…" Hermione smiled. It had been a long time since she had seen that look in Harry's eyes.

"Have you ever thought about it?" Harry said out of nowhere after a few minutes of silence.

"About what?" she asked confused, her eyes on the small kid in her arms.

"Kids. Family…"

"No, not really… I mean, I guess someday I'll have a family and all that but I've been too busy trying to keep you alive during the last six years to really think about the future like that" she said honestly.

"Sorry about that…" he chuckled.

"What about you?" Harry looked up at her in a silent question "Have you ever thought about it, Harry?"

"Actually, I've never really seen a baby this close until now…" he sighed "I've always wanted to have a family, but I guess I've never really thought about what that really meant. Holding him kind of feels like magic… doesn't it?"

"It does…" Hermione smiled "He's so… pure. I've always thought that babies were noisy and boring but I feel like I could look at him forever." she sighed "I think I'd like to have a baby one day…"

They remained silent for a few minutes while Ted finished his bottle. Hermione was absolutely captivated by the hypnotizing sight of the small fragile creature in her arms and Harry watched them almost as if he was under some kind of spell. He had already noticed that she was a very beautiful young woman, but that simple image of her holding his godson with that loving expression on her face made something flutter inside Harry's stomach.

For the second time that night, Harry Potter found himself fighting against the need to kiss her.

"You're beautiful…" Harry whispered without even thinking.

Hermione didn't say a word. Either she was too caught up in Ted's spell or she pretended not to hear him. While she fed the baby, Harry allowed his thoughts to go back to the conversation they had had only a few hours ago. He remembered the intensity of everything they said and everything they didn't say. When Remus' cries for help had waken them, there had been no time for words and they had both jumped to action. Sitting there watching her holding his godson was the first moment Harry had to consider what had happened between them in that room, Because there was no questioning the fact that something _had_ happened there.

But she had been wise to stop his confession when she did and to pretend that she didn't hear him say those last few words.

Although he didn't have much experience, he knew that love was a complicated journey and, even when imagining that everything was fine in that peaceful moment was the easiest thing in the world, he had to remember that war was still raging outside and that they had a mission.

She'd ask him to wait and say the words only after they had survived the war and, as usual, she was right.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked looking into his eyes with a small smile.

"I think for the first time in more than I can remember I feel happy to be here." Harry admitted and she smiled.

And for the rest of the night, as they took turns to hold Teddy Lupin, they both allowed themselves to forget about the war until the sun came up.


	8. Changing Course

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.:**_ _Hello folks! Sorry sorry sorry for the delay but I'm finally back with a new chapter. Thank you for your amazing reviews and welcome to those who had just started reading this story.  
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Keep the reviews coming and I'll try to update as soon as I can.  
Love, _

_Luna._

* * *

 _ **Chapter 8: Changing Course**_

"Dad! Did you see me? Did you? Did you?" the overwhelmingly energetic five year old asked bouncing in front of him while he held a small broom in one hand and a toy golden snitch in the other.

But Harry didn't get to answer because before he could try to make out what the hell was going on, he felt a light weight bouncing on his lap. It was the clapping sound that got him to look down to find a small baby girl with curly brown hair clapping and bouncing happily at the boy.

"You'll be the best seeker of Britain, James" the words rolled off his tongue unconsciously and a warm feeling spread through his chest when he saw the boy grinning widely at his words. The small boy looked so much like him that it was almost scary. He had his green eyes and pale complexion, his nose and his hair. But the colour wasn't the same dark shade of black that coloured Harry's messy hair. The boy had shiny chocolate hair and when he looked up, something in his expression reminded him of somebody he knew.

Suddenly, Harry felt his baby girl stretching to one side, her small hands were trying desperately to grab something that seemed to be just out of reach.

"Mamma…" she babbled and when Hermione came into his view Harry felt a smile warming his face.

"Hello there, beautiful" she said with a big smile and she picked her up from Harry's arms. He let her go without a shade of doubt and as soon as his arms were empty, the five year old jumped into his father's arms hugging him tightly.

Harry kissed the boy's forehead while he hugged him back and he looked up to find Hermione holding their laughing baby girl. The resemblance was amazing, she was a perfect copy of her mother but she had her father's eyes. Her laugh was intoxicatingly beautiful and soon, Harry's laughter joined hers.

Happiness. He had never felt so much happiness in his entire life. Everything felt so natural that he pushed away all the questions ringing in his head -what happened? how did I get here? where am I?-.

And then it happened. Harry felt his face and his body changing, shifting, transforming. For a second, pain was all he could feel so he closed his eyes and when he opened them, he found his son's terrified face looking back at him. The young boy screamed in fear and struggled until he had escaped his embrace.

"James…" Harry called him but his voice wasn't his. It was that hissing high voice he feared and hated so much, the voice that haunted his nightmares.

His baby girl's laughter soon transformed into tears and Hermione's terrified look told him everything he needed to know.

He laughed but it was not his laughter. Through red eyes, he saw Hermione taking the boy's hand and trying to run but before she made it too far she started coughing.

"No…" she cried when she raised her hand to her mouth to find it stained with a thick dark liquid. The tips of her fingers were starting to get darker and darker. "Run!" she told them and she placed the crying baby girl in her brother's arms. "Run, James!" she shouted and both kids run away, disappearing into the darkness that was suddenly surrounding them.

 _Foolish boy, did you think that you could be happy?_ The voice echoed in his mind and Harry took another step towards Hermione. The witch was kneeling on the floor, coughing dark rotten blood. When she looked up, she was screaming in pain while her skin slowly turned black just as Ron's had and Harry felt himself laugh again. A dark, hissing, totally psychotic laugh. He was Voldemort and Voldemort was him. But he could still see through the beast's eyes. He watched Hermione's body convulsing with the worst kind of pain while the same that curse that had taken Ron extended through her body. She kicked and screamed but it didn't stop and Harry had to watch her pain while every inch of her body lost the battle against dark magic. He was helpless, a prisoner inside his own body, a prisoner inside Voldemort's body…

"Avada Kedavra!" the voice said through his lips and a bolt of green light hit Hermione's chest. She looked at him for another second with tears of pain, fear and hate burning in her eyes and then her body fell to the ground.

"No!" Harry cried and this time it was his voice again. "Hermione!" He fell next to her, clutching her body to his chest, tears burning in his eyes, pain ripping through his chest.

Suddenly, he looked down and there he was, holding Hermione's dead body against his chest, sitting on top of a pile of rotting bodies. At first he didn't recognize the faces but soon he knew who they were. Ron, Sirius, Moody, Dumbledore, Cedric, Lily, James, Molly, Arthur, Ginny, Fred, George, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Remus, Hagrid, Neville, Luna and a dozen strangers lying dead on a pile with Harry holding Hermione's dead body on top of it. The faces of the dead and of his living friends all mixed in a pile of reeking rotten flesh.

"No… no, no, no. You can't be dead" he cried trying hopelessly to wake her.

"You killed her, boy" he heard the hissing terrifying voice again but this time, he was in front of him. Voldemort stood right in front of the pile his wand raised and a wicked grin on his face "They are all dead because of you. It's your fault. _You_ did this…"

"NO!"

But the faces of the dead were too real to ignore them and Harry's head fell, burying in Hermione's hair. She was gone, along with everybody else, and it was his fault. The pile reeked to death and but he didn't move, he just stayed there, crying, mourning the loss of everyone he ever loved. He'd never felt such burning pain.

"Pathetic" Voldemort laughed.

Dead.

 _Gone_.

All of them.

His friends.

His family.

The people he loved.

The people who loved him.

His parents.

Sirius.

Dumbledore.

Ron.

Hermione.

Gone. Dead.

A mass of rotting flesh in his arms.

" _Avada Kedavra_!"

For a second, there was nothing.

And then he opened his eyes.

It took Harry a second to take in his surroundings. The morning sun illuminating the room. The smell of the sea overwhelming his senses. A voice dancing in the air around him. Alive. He was alive… He recognized Hermione's voice in a second and he sighed with relief.

"Nightmare" he whispered to himself and took a few deep breaths to calm down. It took him a moment to figure it out, but he discovered that he was sitting in the kitchen, his head resting on the table. He must had fallen asleep while he and Hermione watched over his godson and she probably hadn't wanted to wake him.

With the images of his nightmare still too fresh in his mind, Harry splashed some cold water on his face before he made his way towards the place where he heard Hermione speaking. He looked for her in every room on the ground floor and didn't find her but soon he followed her voice and found out that she was outside.

He was surprised to discover that she was actually alone with Teddy sitting on the sand and enjoying the sunlight. The morning breeze played with her brown locks and she was holding the baby in one hand and her copy of the tales of Beedle the Bard in the other. Harry couldn't stop the smile when he saw her reading out loud to his godson.

"... _As the sun fell below the horizon, Sir Luckless emerged from the waters with the glory of his triumph upon him, and flung himself in his rusted armour at the feet of Amata, who was the kindest and most beautiful woman he had ever beheld._ " Harry leaned into a wall, enjoying the peaceful moment while she finished her tale " _Flushed with success, he begged for her hand and her heart, and Amata, no less_ _delighted, realised that she had found a man worthy of them._ " she smiled and Harry's lips mirrored her bright expression " _The three witches and the knight set off down the hill together, arm in arm, and all four led long and happy lives, and none of them ever knew or suspected that the Fountain's waters carried no enchantment at all._ And that's it… You liked it?"

Hermione closed the book and left it on the sand turning her attention towards the baby's face. She kissed his forehead and caressed his soft cheek.

"One day our stories will have a happy ending too, Teddy" she said softly "One day you'll live in a world where we don't have to hide or fight. There will be no danger and people like me and Harry and your dad will have the same rights as every pureblood wizard… All of us will be free and happy and you will not remember that there was ever a war."

"I like that tale better than the one about the Fountain" Harry spoke surprising her with his presence.

"Harry, you're awake" she smiled at him when he sat next to them on the sand.

"Good morning" he said and a wide grin spread through his face when he saw his godson's eyes fixed on him "Hi there, little one."

"I didn't know you've read The Fountain of Fair Fortune"

"And I haven't. I just heard you read the end and I figured it out, you've mentioned it a while ago."

"It's a good story. You liked it, didn't you Teddy?" Hermione smiled at the baby.

"I liked the ending… The part about the most kindest and beautiful woman giving her heart and her hand to Sir Luckless was my favourite." he smiled teasingly.

"How do you know that's your favorite part if you haven't read the rest of it?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Will you read it to me one day?" he asked and she smiled shaking her head with a small laugh.

"Last time I checked you were not a little boy, Harry Potter."

"I didn't know you had a habit of _checking_ things about me" he joked and Hermione laughed. The sound warmed Harry's heart almost like magic, making all the dark images of his nightmares disappear.

"We both know you'd be long dead by now if I didn't have a habit of constantly checking on you."

"A friend of mine told me that you're usually right and that I should listen to you more often…" he sighed "So I guess you're right"

"I'd never imagined I'd say this but what a wise man that Ron Weasley…" she smiled, a shadow of sadness crossing her eyes.

"A wise man indeed" Harry said looking up to the sky.

"It feels like he's been gone for a lifetime and it's actually been only a few days" she took a deep breath "I wonder if I'll ever get used to the fact that he's never coming back."

"You won't" Harry said without a shadow of doubt.

"I guess you're right…" she took a deep breath and then looked back at Teddy "Do you think he'll really live in a world free of all this darkness?"

"I hope so. I know I'll try to do my part on making this world a better place for all of us to live in…"

She smiled at the thought of living in a better world. A world that was free of the horrors of war and pain and darkness. A world in which they'd live together. The way Harry had said _all of us_ warmed her soul.

"Remus woke up for a while while you were sleeping" Hermione said changing the topic after a long moment of silence. "He said that Malfoy was with the group that attacked St. Mungo's and took Tonks. He thinks they have her at Malfoy's Manor."

"It makes sense, they had prisoners when we were there…"

"He wants to get her out, Harry" she said worriedly "He's determined to do it… even though he knows there's a good chance that he dies trying."

"He wouldn't be Remus if he didn't want to try."

"You know better than anyone else what happened last time we were there, Harry. I'm worried… what if something happens to him? What about Ted? It's not like you are in a position where you can take care of him."

"Don't worry about that right now" he said, holding her hand in his "Nothing's happened yet. We're alright for now."

"For now…" she sighed and Harry saw a few tears shining in her eyes, threatening to fall.

"Come here…" Harry said softly and he wrapped his arms around Hermione and Teddy. The witch allowed her back to rest against his chest and leaned back with a deep breath "Right here, right now we're safe" he whispered into her ear "And like you've just said, someday we'll live in a world where all this darkness will be nothing more than a bad memory. That's all that matters right now. Not what happens between that moment and this one."

Hermione took a deep breath while she took his words in. His voice was so calming, his arms around her made her feel so safe… after a second, she nodded and Harry rested his chin on her shoulder, watching his godson falling asleep in Hermione's arms.

"Thank you" she whispered.

"Anytime."

They stayed like that for a long moment, enjoying the peacefulness of the first sun's rays in silence while little Ted slept soundly in Hermione's arms.

* * *

Ginny Weasley dried her tears and closed the curtains of the room she shared with Charlie on the second floor of Shell Cottage. She couldn't even hear what they were saying, but it was obvious to her that Harry and Hermione were totally in love with each other. And to think that only a few months before, she had been the happiest witch in the world by his side. She had been living her dream, she had been Harry's girlfriend… And knowing him and how noble he was, if she hadn't wanted to give that up, Harry would have probably stayed with her even though his heart was with someone else. And they would all be unhappy. At least by giving up on Harry, Ginny had granted him and Hermione the happiness she couldn't have.

"You ready?" Charlie asked carefully.

"I think so…" she took a deep breath and walked away from the window.

"Where are your things, Gin?"

"This is is" Ginny said showing him the small bag she was carrying "I left my trunk at Hogwarts. I knew I'd be coming back soon."

"Good. Let's get going. Bill told me that Remus arrived last night with his baby. He's injured."

"I know…" she nodded. After all, she hadn't been able to sleep all night and Harry and Hermione's conversations downstairs had travelled through the night's silence.

"Will you stay here, Charlie?" she asked not sure of which answer she was expecting.

"I can't go back to Romania, Gin. Not after seeing what's happened. Working with the dragons has been amazing but I'm clearly needed here" he said honestly.

"I want you to go back" the witch said suddenly making up her mind "It's safer there, I don't want to lose you too…"

Charlie took a deep breath and took a few steps in her direction until he was close enough to hug her as tightly as he could.

"I know how close you and Ron were, Gin. Even though you spent half of the time you were together fighting, we all know that you loved each other" he sighed "I loved him too, Gin. He was my little brother and I know how much losing him hurts, but we can't let his death scare us away. We have to fight back or eventually we'll follow Ron one by one."

"I just don't want you to die" Ginny admitted still hiding in his brother's hug.

"And I'll try not to… That's all I can promise."

Ginny nodded and took another second hugging her brother before she let go. Fred and George had left earlier with their parents and although there were still too many people staying there considering the small size of the cottage, everything seemed quieter now that the only guests were Charlie, Harry, Hermione, Remus and his baby. At least at Bill's house, things were starting to go back to normal after the whole tragedy that ended with Ron's death.

"I'll wait for you outside so we can apparate to Hogsmeade, ok?"

"Sure. I'll say goodbye to everyone and I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

Ginny went down the stairs to meet Bill and Fleur and hugged them both tightly before saying goodbye. Of course, she made her brother promise something similar to what she had asked from Charlie and, just in case, she told him how much she loved him.

"I'm sorry for acting like a little girl" she said, her cheeks shining a bright shade of red "And I'm sorry for blasting your window" she added even though the window had been fixed and didn't even look like it had even been broken. Probably that had been Hermione's charms work…

"It's ok, Gin. Don't worry. Now go, Charlie is waiting."

"Take care of everyone, Bill" she asked with a few tears dancing in her eyes.

"I'll try. Be safe Ginny" he hugged her one last time and after a quick hug with Fleur, Ginny finally left the house.

The salty breeze made her smile a little, probably for the first time in too long and she looked up to the sky, remembering the moment when she had seen Ron's remains fly away with the early morning breeze.

"I'll miss you, brother" she whispered with a small lump in her throat and when she looked back down she was met with the sight of Harry holding his baby godson while Hermione read out loud from a book. The image was so _right_ that it hurt. They were still sitting on the sand and with their backs to her. She could have probably left without them noticing, but after all that had happened, she just couldn't bring herself to leave without saying goodbye.

Ginny walked silently towards them in silence and Hermione interrupted her reading as soon as she approached and for a moment the three of them looked at each other in a tense silence.

"Your godson is beautiful" Ginny said at last, her eyes falling on the baby for a few seconds.

"Thank you" Harry nodded,

Ginny cleared her throat "I… I'm leaving, back to Hogwarts."

"Right now?" Hermione asked surprised.

"Yes, Charlie will take me. I just…" she sighed "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry" this time she was looking directly at Hermione "My brother's death wasn't your fault."

"I know" Hermione nodded "And I know you needed someone to blame. I understand."

"I acted like a jealous and spoiled little girl and I'm sorry" she admitted "Do you forgive me?"

Hermione looked at Harry for a short moment and then nodded with a small smile.

Ginny looked at Harry with pleading eyes, silently asking for his forgiveness just as she had asked for Hermione's

"We do forgive you, Ginny" he said "It was difficult for all of us…"

"Back at Hogwarts people is willing to fight, we're there if you ever need us. You can send word with Dobby if there's anything we can do."

"Thank you Ginny" this time it was Hermione who spoke "It's very brave of all of you. Tell everyone that we're still fighting too. We're not giving up."

"I will" she nodded and sighed again "And, Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Take care of him" her eyes shone with a thin layer of tears when she looked at Harry but she quickly blinked them away.

"I will, just like I always have."

"I know… I thinks that's it then. Charlie's waiting."

"Be safe, Gin" Harry said giving her a small smile "And thank you."

"Take care of each other" she said at last and then she walked away to meet her brother.

"That was very brave of her" Hermione admitted and Harry nodded.

"It was…" he whispered as they saw Ginny reach Charlie and disapparated away with him. "Will you finish that tale for us?" Harry asked her and she smiled.

"Of course I will."

Hermione went back to reading but she couldn't get to the end of the tale because soon they heard people arguing inside the house and they rushed back inside to see what was going on. Apparently, they were meant to never have a quiet and peaceful moment without shouting interrupting it.

"Give me my wand back!" Harry came into the room just in time to hear Remus' angry demand.

"I'll give it back once you've gotten that stupid idea out of your head!"

"I need my wand back, Bill."

"You're not going to Malfoy's Manor, Remus. There's no way we'll let you go on a suicide mission." Bill said without hesitation.

"I need to get Dora out of there!" Remus yelled, his face red with anger.

"Remus!" Hermione had to scream in order to get her former Professor's attention. "Stop fighting and listen for a second. You're a father now, you have a son who needs you" the young witch took small Teddy from Harry's arms and took a step towards the werewolf "You can't leave him…"

The baby started to cry and everyone fell silent. After a tense second, Remus took a few steps towards Hermione and took the crying baby from her arms starting to calm down as soon as he felt his son in his arms.

"He needs you, Remus" Harry said in barely more than a whisper.

"I can't turn my back on Dora…" Remus muttered through the thick lump in his throat. "I can't stand to look at him knowing I let his mother go."

"It'll be ok…" Hermione whispered with a hand on his shoulder.

After a while, they all sat around the table drinking some tea while they tried to come up with a way to break into the wizarding bank. They decided that was as good a moment as any so they told Remus about their mission and asked for help but he didn't have any useful ideas.

Not much longer after that, they heard about the attack on St. Mungo's through Potterwatch. After the list of people who had been found dead after the attack was read, everyone remained silent for a minute showing respect for the dead ones and soon somebody began reading the list of those who had disappeared after the attack. Tonks' name was on the list among many others who had either been captured or disappeared into hiding to avoid being killed after surviving the attack.

"I saw it" Remus said after the transmission ended "I saw it when the death eater took her and disapparated. She's been taken prisoner. I know they have her... and I couldn't stop it."

"It's not your fault, Remus. The attack on Saint Mungo's seems to have been planned for a very long time. You just happened to be there at the wrong time." Harry tried to comfort him.

"And now Dora's paying the prize. My son doesn't have his mother." He whispered trying to hold back the tears while he hugged his son "This is wrong. I need to fix it"

"And you will" Hermione said suddenly, her voice had never sounded more convinced of something "We will. We'll get her back."

"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Harry asked her completely confused.

"We'll get into Malfoy's Manor. We'll get her back" she said with determination shining in her eyes.

"What are you talking about, Hermione?" Bill cut in "Are you out of your mind?"

"We need to" she said simply "We might want to fool ourselves into thinking that there's another way but the truth is we'll never get into the Lestrange's vault without Bellatrix. And we need to destroy that thing."

"No. Absolutely no" Harry said "You're not going anywhere near that place ever again."

"I wasn't asking for permission, Harry" she said softly but without a shade of doubt.

"It's too risky. We'll find another way…" Bill said before Harry could speak again.

"No, we won't" Hermione said firmly "We'll just come up with plan after plan only to realize that it's never going to work. And while we sit around trying to figure this out Tonks and Merlin knows who other people held there as prisoners suffer."

"Are you suggesting that we kidnap the most dangerous and psychotic death eater and use her to get what we need from that vault?" Bill asked as if it were impossible.

"I am. And you know as well as I do that that's the only plan that can work."

Bill fell silent knowing that she was right and sighed "There's no way we're all getting out of there alive at all."

"There's no way we're getting back there in the first place!" Harry spoke annoyed at being ignored "Just a few hours ago you were telling me that we couldn't go back there, Hermione. We'll find another way."

"There isn't another way, Harry." she tried to make him see reason "We can talk to Dobby, he knows the place better than anyone. We need a plan, you know it's the only way" her pleading brown eyes buried into Harry's and after a long moment, he looked away, defeated and knowing that -as always- she was right.

"It's still too dangerous" he said.

"I know… but we'll come up with a plan, we'll have help" she took Harry's hand and he looked up to meet her eyes "We can make it. You know it's the only way."

Harry took a deep breath before nodding in agreement.

"I know…" he sighed "I just don't want to see you get hurt again"

For a moment, everything but Harry's green eyes disappeared around Hermione and before even thinking, she wrapped her arms around Harry and hugged him as tightly as she could, reveling in the feeling of his strong arms around her and his sweet scent overwhelming her senses.

"We'll be ok…" she whispered, not daring to promise it. "It's what has to be done."

"So we're doing this… We'll find a way to get inside that place, we'll rescue the prisoners and we'll get Bellatrix… then we can go get that Horcrux and crush another piece of that bastard's soul"

"Craziest plan I've ever heard…" Bill said "I'm in."

"Me too" Hermione said still half hidden in Harry's hug.

"I'm in" Remus nodded.

"Then let's get to it. We have a break in to plan" Bill said and they all nodded. Now they had a clear purpose. They had a mission.


End file.
